Exploring the construct of school readiness based on child development  for kindergarten children

Farida Agus Setiawati; Rita Eka Izzaty; Agus Triyanto

doi:10.21831/reid.v3i1.13663

Exploring the construct of school readiness based on child development for kindergarten children

Farida Agus Setiawati, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Rita Eka Izzaty, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Agus Triyanto, Department of Guidance of Counseling, Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia

10.21831/reid.v3i1.13663

Abstract

Indonesian government has regulated that the basic age of readiness of a child to attend elementary schools is 7 years old. In fact, some children are not exactly 7 years old when they first go to school because they develop more rapidly. This study is aimed at investigating some aspects of child development which affect their readiness to attend elementary school. The subjects were 101 grade 1, 2, and 3 teachers of elementary schools in Yogyakarta, a special Region in Indonesia. The data were collected through interviews. The results of the data collection were analyzed using both descriptive quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results of the study show some aspects of child development affecting their readiness to attend elementary schools, including cognitive and language ability, social emotional skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, arts, religion and moral values, and some others. Beside these aspects, some problems in grades 1, 2, and 3 are also found. This study is expected to give significant indicators to create the construct of school readiness.

Keywords

school readiness; elementary schools; child development

Full Text:

PDF

References

Dockett, S., & Perry, B. (2002). Who’s ready for what? Young children starting school. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 3(1), 67–89. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2002.3.1.9

Government Regulation No. 17 Year 2010 on educational management and implementation (2010). Indonesia.

Janus, M., Brinkman, S., Duku, E., Hertzman, C., Santos, R., Sayers, M., … Walsh, C. (2006). The early development instrument: A population-based measure for communities. A handbook on development, properties, and use. Ontario: Offord Centre for Child Studies.

Lemelin, J.-P., & Boivin, M. (2007). Success starts in grade 1: The importance of school readiness. Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, 4(2), 1–12.

Lewit, E. M., & Baker, L. S. (1995). School readiness. The Future of Children, 5(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602361

Magdalena, S. M. (2014). The effects of parental influences and school readiness of the child. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127, 733–737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.345

Ministry of National Education. Minister regulation no. 04/VI/PB/2011 on student admission at kindergarten/raudhatul athfal/bustanul athfal and school/madrasah (2011).

Ministry of National Education. Minister regulation no. 137 year 2014 on the national standard of early childhood education (2014).

Shaari, M. F., & Ahmad, S. S. (2016). Physical learning environment: Impact on children school readiness in Malaysian preschools. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 222, 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.164

Tunçeli, H. I., & Akman, B. (2013). The investigation of school readiness level of six years old preschool children in terms of different variables. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 106, 2899–2905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.3 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/reid.v3i1.13663