Factors influencing children's readiness for school entry
Keywords:
school readiness, family, school system, perspectives, skills
Abstract
Starting school represents an important milestone in every child's development, and school readiness is determined by a combination of various factors. It does not only involve acquiring certain knowledge and skills but also implies the child's overall preparedness for the school environment. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the key factors influencing school readiness through a narrative review of empirical and review studies. The theoretical framework of the paper is the Ecological Systems Theory, which enables a comprehensive understanding of the reciprocal influences of various systems on child development. Literature was gathered using the Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. Both empirical and review studies were included in the analysis. The literature review showed that there are numerous factors that can have either a positive or negative impact on school readiness, relating to the child, the family, and the school system. The analyzed results indicate that school readiness cannot be viewed in isolation but rather as an outcome of multiple interrelated factors—from the child’s cognitive and emotional abilities, through parental involvement and the family’s socio-economic status, to the support offered by the school system through prepared teachers and a stimulating environment. These findings can serve as guidelines for improving policies and practices related to preparing children for school, enabling a smoother transition and better conditions for success in the school setting. This underscores the importance of coordinated action by all stakeholders involved in the process of early education and development.
References
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Lau, E. Y. H., & Ng, M. L. (2019). Are they ready for home-school partnership? Perspectives of kindergarten principals, teachers, and parents. Child & Youth Services Review, 99, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.019
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Marti, M., Merz, E. C., Repka, K. R., Landers, C., Noble, K. G., & Duch, H. (2018). Parent involvement in the getting ready for school intervention is associated with changes in school readiness skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 759. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00759
Mohamed, Z., & Laher, S. (2012). Exploring foundation phase school teachers’ perceptions of learning difficulties in two Johannesburg schools. Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 24(2). doi: 10.2989/17280583.2012.735500
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Pelletier, J., & Brent, J. M. (2002). Parent participation in children’ school readiness: The effects of parental self-efficacy, cultural diversity, and teacher strategies. International Journal of Early Childhood, 34, 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03177322
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Piotrkowski, C. S., Botsko, M., & Matthews, E. (2000). Parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about children’s school readiness in a high-need community. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(4), 537-558. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(01)00072-2
Saputri, W. H., & Risnawati, E. (2024). Preparing for the school readiness of early childhood by enhancing the well-being and family support. Jurnal Pendidikan Usia Dini, 18(1), 270-286. doi: 10.21009/JPUD.181.19
Taylor, H. G., Vrantsidis, D. M., Neel, M. L., Benkart, R., Busch, T. A., & de Silva, A. et al. (2022). School readiness in 4-year-old very preterm children. Children (Basel), 9(3), 323. doi: 10.3390/children9030323
Tudge, J., Merçon-Vargas, E., Liang, Y., & Payir, A. (2016). The importance of Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory for early childhood education. U L. Cohen & S. Stupiansky (Ur.), Theories of early childhood education: Developmental, behaviorist, and critical (1st.ed.). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315641560-4
Wolf, S., & McCoy, D. C. (2019). Household socioeconomic status and parental investments: Direct and indirect relations with school readiness in Ghana. Child Development, 90(1), 260-278. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12899
Yildiz, R., Yildiz, A., Gucuyener, K., Soysal Acar, A. S., & Elbasan, B. (2019). Minor neurological dysfunction in preterm children and its association with school readiness. International Journal of Disability, Development & Education, 67(2), 125–134. doi:10.1080/1034912X.2019.1614154
Backe, S. (2015). School readiness in an early childhood population (doctoral dissertation). Boston: Boston College Institutional Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104149
Bandyopadhyay, A., Marchant, E., Jones, H., Parker, M., Evans, J., & Brophy, S. (2023). Factors associated with low school readiness, a linked health and education data study in Wales, UK. PLOS ONE, 18(12). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273596
Bierman, K. L., Stormshak, E. A., Mannweiler, M. D., & Hails, K. A. (2023). Preschool programs that help families promote child social-emotional school readiness: Promising new strategies. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 26(4), 865-879. doi: 10.1007/s10567-023-00444-5
Breinbauer, C., Vidal, V., Molina, P., Trabucco, C., Gutierrez, L., & Cordero, M. (2022). Early childhood development policy in Chile: Progress and pitfalls supporting children with developmental disabilities toward school readiness. Frontiers in Public Health, 12(10), 983513. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.983513
Christensen, D., Taylor, C. L., Hancock, K. J., & Zubrick, S. R. (2022). School readiness is more than the child: A latent class analysis of child, family, school, and community aspects of school readiness. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 57, 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.138
Crawford, M. (2020). Ecological systems theory: Exploring the development of the theoretical framework as conceived by Bronfenbrenner. Journal of Public Health Issues & Practice, 4(2), 170. https://doi.org/10.33790/jphip1100170
Dakamo, D. (2023). An examination of primary school teacher's perception of school readiness programs. Cypriot Journal of Educational Science, 18(4), 644-654. doi: 10.18844/cjes.v18i4.8869
Dunaway, L. E. F., Bazzano, A. N., Gray, S. A. O., & Theall, K. P. (2021). Health, neighborhoods, and school readiness from the parent perspective: A qualitative study of contextual and socio-emotional factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 9350. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179350
El Zaatari, W., & Maalouf, I. (2022). How the Bronfenbrenner bio-ecological system theory explains the development of students’ sense of belonging to school? SAGE Open, 1–18.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221134089
Flavell, J. H. (1996). Piaget’s legacy. Psychological Science, 7(4), 200–204.
Ghandour, R. M., Hirai, A. H., Moore, K. A., Robinson, L. R., Kaminski, J. W., & Murphy, K. et al. (2021). Healthy and ready to learn: Prevalence and correlates of school readiness among United States preschoolers. Academic Pediatrics, 21(5), 818–829. 10.1016/j.acap.2021.02.019
Golubović, Š. (2018). Rana intervencija u detinjstvu. Novi Sad: Medicinski fakultet.
Hayes, N., Halpenny, A. M., & O'Toole, L. (2017). Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in early years. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315646206
Heller, S. S., Rice, J., Boothe, A., Sidell, M., Vaughn, K., & Keyes, A. et al. (2012). Social-emotional development, school readiness, teacher–child interactions, and classroom environment. Early Education and Development, 23(6), 919–944. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2011.626387
Hidayati, I., Susanti, M., Anggreiny, N., & Maputra, Y. (2023). Evaluating factors affecting the readiness of children entering elementary school: The perspective of elementary school teachers. Jurnal Pendidikan Sekolah Dasar, 10(1), 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.26555/jpsd.v10i1.a26077
Jahre, J. (2023). Early childhood education and care teachers’ perceptions of school readiness: A research review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 135. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2023.104353
John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3–4), 191–206.
Jose, K., Banks, S., Hansen, E., & et al. (2022). Parental perspectives on children’s school readiness: An ethnographic study. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50, 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01130-9
Kokkalia, G., Drigas, A. S., Economou, A., & Roussos, P. (2019). School readiness from kindergarten to primary school. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 14(11), 4. doi: 10.3991/ijet.v14i11.10090
Lau, E. Y. H., & Ng, M. L. (2019). Are they ready for home-school partnership? Perspectives of kindergarten principals, teachers, and parents. Child & Youth Services Review, 99, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.019
Lin, M. L., & Faldowski, R. A. (2023). The relationship of parent support and child emotional regulation to school readiness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6). doi: 10.3390/ijerph20064867
Marti, M., Merz, E. C., Repka, K. R., Landers, C., Noble, K. G., & Duch, H. (2018). Parent involvement in the getting ready for school intervention is associated with changes in school readiness skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 759. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00759
Mohamed, Z., & Laher, S. (2012). Exploring foundation phase school teachers’ perceptions of learning difficulties in two Johannesburg schools. Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 24(2). doi: 10.2989/17280583.2012.735500
Omand, J. A., Janus, M., Maguire, J. L., Parkin, P. C., Aglipay, M., & Randall Simpson, J. et al. (2021). Nutritional risk in early childhood and school readiness. Journal of Nutrition, 151(12), 3811–3819. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab307
Pelletier, J., & Brent, J. M. (2002). Parent participation in children’ school readiness: The effects of parental self-efficacy, cultural diversity, and teacher strategies. International Journal of Early Childhood, 34, 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03177322
Peterson, J., Bruce, J., Patel, N., & Chamberlain, L. J. (2018). Parental attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to school readiness among parents of low-income Latino children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(2), 188. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15020188
Piotrkowski, C. S., Botsko, M., & Matthews, E. (2000). Parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about children’s school readiness in a high-need community. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(4), 537-558. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(01)00072-2
Saputri, W. H., & Risnawati, E. (2024). Preparing for the school readiness of early childhood by enhancing the well-being and family support. Jurnal Pendidikan Usia Dini, 18(1), 270-286. doi: 10.21009/JPUD.181.19
Taylor, H. G., Vrantsidis, D. M., Neel, M. L., Benkart, R., Busch, T. A., & de Silva, A. et al. (2022). School readiness in 4-year-old very preterm children. Children (Basel), 9(3), 323. doi: 10.3390/children9030323
Tudge, J., Merçon-Vargas, E., Liang, Y., & Payir, A. (2016). The importance of Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory for early childhood education. U L. Cohen & S. Stupiansky (Ur.), Theories of early childhood education: Developmental, behaviorist, and critical (1st.ed.). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315641560-4
Wolf, S., & McCoy, D. C. (2019). Household socioeconomic status and parental investments: Direct and indirect relations with school readiness in Ghana. Child Development, 90(1), 260-278. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12899
Yildiz, R., Yildiz, A., Gucuyener, K., Soysal Acar, A. S., & Elbasan, B. (2019). Minor neurological dysfunction in preterm children and its association with school readiness. International Journal of Disability, Development & Education, 67(2), 125–134. doi:10.1080/1034912X.2019.1614154
Published
2025/07/26
Section
Review article
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