Some Variables Predicting the School Readiness of Preschool Children

The main purpose of this study is determining the predictive power of the levels of the school readiness in the preschool children by some variables such as social skills, social interaction practices and education status of the parents. The population of the study in the general screening model is composed of 60 to 66-month old children attending to independent preschools registered by the Ministry of National Education in Konya, Turkey. The sample of this study is selected through stratified sampling method among schools, which represent families and their children of three different socio-economic (low, mid and high), in three central districts of Konya. These levels are determined by the Directorate of National Education. Sample group is composed of 42 preschool teachers and 210 children in total, which is sufficient in terms of the number of the participants. Social Skills Test for Preschool-aged Children, Social Interaction Practices for the Preschool Years (SIPPY) Questionnaire and Metropolitan School Readiness Test were employed in the study. Multiple regression analysis and stepwise regression analysis were used for the analyses of the study. By employing linear multiple regression analysis, it was determined that to what extent the variables social skills, social interaction practices, and education status of the parents predict the school readiness level. At the end of the stepwise regression analysis that was utilized to find out whether aforementioned variables have a significant contribution to predict school readiness level, it was found that 10 % of the school readiness level of 60 to 66-month old children attending pre-school education was explained by environmental strategies about social interaction practices applied by preschool teachers, 4% of it was explained by communication skill that is one of the social skills of the children, and 3 % of it was explained by the education status of the father. Keywords: School readiness, Preschool education, Social interaction