Abstract:

Current research deal with the issue of a child's school readiness more comprehensively than in the past. Contemporary research papers focus on mapping predictors of school success that can positively influence the start of compulsory school attendance. Aimed support and assistance from educators in problem areas can enable the child to make the most of his or her potential for successful schooling. When starting compulsory school attendance, a number of factors determines a child's success, such as work endurance and the ability to concentrate, solve quantitative problems, adaptability or the ability to interact with peers and adults. An important prerequisite is a certain degree of readiness - the ability to recognize letters and words and the degree of perceptual maturity. The aim of the presented pilot study is to describe and analyze the level of readiness in children to read and write and their work endurance. The so-called reverse test was applied to research group of 90 children aged 6.8 years. The test is focused on monitoring the transposition tendency, affecting the child's ability to learn to read and write, as well as on assessing concentration, endurance and perception. Readiness for reading was assessed on the level of the achieved criterion (rough score, 7 categories) and the corresponding percentile. The final categorization of the rough score, i.e. the readiness rate, was done in accordance with the test administration manual according to the gross score range (4 categories). The level of endurance and concentration is expressed by monitoring the time needed to pass the test and the corresponding percentile. The relationship between the readiness level and the level of endurance and concentration was expressed by a correlation coefficient (significance level p <0.05). Possible differences in the observed variables in boys and girls were evaluated by the Mann-Whitney test. For the testing of the monitored children, the consent of their legal representatives was obtained, voluntary participation and anonymity of the obtained data were guaranteed. The research was done within the project IGA_PdF_2022_011 and approved by the Ethics Committee of the workplace of the authors. The results indicate the need to focus on the development of work endurance and concentration, which is a prerequisite for a successful school career of the child. The obtained data can extend and supplement research field of school readiness of children and enable experts to compare with the population in other countries.

Keywords:

Readiness to read, child, start of compulsory school attendance.