School readiness: what aspects should the teachers’ to understand?

Abstract

The first six years of life lay the foundation for many of the knowledge bases and skill required for successful school adjustment and later adult competence. The readiness or developmental status of a child when he or she makes the transition from home to school is the result of a complex web of interactions between the child’s genetic endowment and the environment around the child. This study explored several aspects in school readiness and the importance of it to the personal development of the child in schooling life. A rural school from Batu Pahat was selected as a location of the research. Year One students were selected as the respondents of the study. In order to measure their school readiness several inventories for school readiness were used for the basic reference such as School Readiness Scale by Brackon (1984) and Nurture Group Reintegration Readiness Scale by Doyle (2001). This is very important for the study to develop a comprehensive Model of School Readiness. To gain more information about the respondents’ personal experience especially in upbringing their child, the interview session was conducted. The data explored a personal involvement of the respondents in the readiness process of the child as well as a supplement of the quantitative data. The study have identified five major aspects that should be included in defining the student readiness are physical well-being and motor development, emotional health and a positive approach to new experiences, social knowledge and competence, language skills, and general knowledge and cognitive skills. Majority of the respondents were not fully ready for school. They were found ready in certain aspect like cognitive but not for many other aspects. A model of school readiness was also developed and presented as a conclusion of the study.