ANAOKULU VE İLKOKUL BİRİNCİ SINIFA DEVAM EDEN 60-71 AYLIK ÇOCUKLARIN ZİHİNSEL-DİL GELİŞİMLERİ AÇISINDAN İLKOKULA HAZIR OLUŞ DÜZEYLERİNİN KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI

COMPARISON OF SCHOOL READINESS LEVELS OF KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE CHILDREN AT 60-71 MONTHS IN TERMS OF MENTAL-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Özet

Bu çalışmanın amacı; anaokuluna ve ilkokul birinci sınıfa devam eden 60-71 aylık çocukların zihinsel-dil gelişimleri açısından ilkokula hazır oluş durumlarının karşılaştırılmasıdır. İlişkisel tarama modelinde yürütülen araştırmanın örneklemini İstanbul ili Küçükçekmece, Beşiktaş, Sarıyer ve Bağcılar ilçelerinde bulunan anaokulu ve ilkokul birinci sınıfa devam eden 343 çocuk oluşturmuştur. Veriler; Polat Unutkan (2003) tarafından geliştirilen ve standardizasyonu yapılan Marmara İlköğretime Hazır Oluş Ölçeği'nin Zihinsel ve Dil Gelişimi Alt Ölçeği aracılığı ile toplanmıştır. Öğretmenler tarafından doldurulan ölçeklerden elde edilen verilerin analizinde IBM SPSS Statistics22.0 Veri Analizi Programı kullanılmıştır. Uygun analiz yöntemini belirlemek için ölçeğin toplam puanlarının basıklık ve çarpıklık katsayıları hesaplandıktan sonra ilişkisiz örneklemler için t test analizi ve iki yönlü varyans analizi kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca, çocukların kronolojik yaşlarına göre yüzdelik dilimleri hesaplanmıştır. Çocukların zihinsel-dil gelişimi puanları üzerinde eğitim kademesi ve yaş aralığı değişkenlerinin ayrı ayrı (p<.01) ve iki değişkenin ortak etkisine (F (1,339)=8,132, p<.01) bakıldığında anlamlı farklılık bulunmuştur. Bu sonuçlara göre, anaokuluna devam eden ve 66-71 aylık çocukların ilkokul birinci sınıfa başlamak için hazır oldukları görülmüştür. Ayrıca her iki eğitim kademesinde de yaş arttıkça zihinsel-dil gelişim puan ortalamaları da artmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, 60-65 aylık çocukların ilkokula başlamamaları önerilmektedir. Ek olarak, ailelerin de okula başlama yaşı ve okula hazır oluş ile ilgili bilinçlendirilmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir

Abstract

This study’s aim is the comparison of school readiness levels of kindergarten and first grade children at 60-71 months in terms of their mental-language development. The sample of this descriptive study in relational screening model was 343 kindergartens and first grade schools in Küçükçekmece, Beşiktaş, SarıyerveBağcılar districts in İstanbul. Data was obtained with “Mental and Language Development Scale” that is a development form of “Marmara Scale for Primary School Readiness” developed and standardized by PolatUnutkan (2003). IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 Data Analysis Program was used in the analysis of the data obtained from the scales. After coefficients of kurtosis and skewness of the scale were calculated to determine the appropriate analysis method, independent samples t test and two-way ANOVA were used in analyzing of data. In addition, children’s percentiles were calculated according to their chronological age. There were statistically significant difference between children’s points according to educational level (p<.01), age range (p<.01) and interaction effect of both two variables (F (1,339)=8,132, p<.01). According to these results, it was seen that kindergarten children and children at 66-71 months are ready to start first grade. In addition, mental-language development point means of children increased with age of children. When the results of the study were considered, it was suggested that children at 60-65 months should not start the first grade. Morever, the awareness of parents about school start age and school readiness should be raised Although the concept of age is seen as very important for school starting, the concept of school readiness also has great importance. Child should have enough abilities in each developmental area for the school readiness. Literacy skill that is one of such skills requires to be sufficient in all developmental areas, especially mental and language development. There is an important relationship between mental development affecting the learning ability of the child and reading success (MEB, 2006). Language development is seen as an important developmental area showing that a child is ready for literacy (Morrison, 1998, p. 258). According to studies, language development of children at 5 and 5,5 years affects their literacy skills (ODTÜ Eğitim Fakültesi İlköğretim Bölümü, 2012). When previous studies are reviewed, although studies focusing on literacy skills of children are often seen, studies related to mental and language development affecting literacy skills are not seen. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare school readiness levels of kindergarten and first grade children at 60-71 months in terms of their mentallanguage development. Method The study was both in relational screening model and conducted as a descriptive research. The sample of the study was 343 kindergartens and first grade schools in Küçükçekmece, Beşiktaş, Sarıyer ve Bağcılar districts in İstanbul. The sample is selected by the way of stratified purposeful sampling to compare certain subgroups. Data was obtained with “Mental and Language Development Scale” that is a development form of “Marmara Scale for Primary School Readiness” developed and standardized by Polat Unutkan (2003). According to the percentiles of the scale, while 75% means that the child is ready to start primary school, 25% shows that the child is not ready for the school. In addition, 50% means that the child can be ready for the school if he receives necessary supportive education. After necessary permissions from İstanbul Provincial Directorate for National Education, teachers were informed about the scales and filled the scales by considering the developmental level of children in the beginning of the education term. Teachers were given a week’s permission to fill in the scales. Each scale was evaluated by calculating children’s points and percentiles according to their chronological age. IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 Data Analysis Program was used in the analysis of the data obtained from the scales. After coefficients of kurtosis and skewness of the scale were calculated to see whether the data have the normal distribution or not and to determine the appropriate analysis method, independent samples t-test for paired comparisons and two-way ANOVA for interaction effects of factors were used in analyzing of data. Findings There were statistically significant difference between children’s mental-language development points according to educational level (t=2,649, p<.01), age range (t=6,648, p<.01) and interaction effect of both two variables (F (1,339)=8,132, p<.01). When children’s percentiles were considered according to educational level, while 48% of kindergarten children were in 75%, 40% of first grade children were in 25%. According to age range, while 43% of children at 60-65 months were in 25%, 52.5% of children at 66-71 months were in 75%. According to both educational level and age range, while 45.5% of kindergarten children at 60-65 months were in 75%, 59.5% of first grade children at 60-65 months were in 25%. In addition, while 54% of kindergarten children at 66-71 months were in 75%, 51.5% of first grade children at 66-71 months were in 75%. Discussion and Conclusion In this study, it was found that mental-language development of kindergarten children was better than first grade children. According to percentiles of the scale, while the majority of kindergarten children were ready for school, the majority of first grade children were not ready because while kindergarten children can continue to play without any anxiety for literacy learning, first grade children have anxiety for literacy learning. Fawcett (2012) also states that primary school curriculum does not allow free and supportive environment for children. In addition, first grade children start the school with inadequate skills and their anxiety level is high. Therefore, they cannot show their skills, behaviorally. Mental-