Children’s Readiness for School from a Teacher’s Perspective

Cilj rada bio je ispitati stavove učitelja razredne nastave o spremnosti djece za školu s naglaskom na predčitalačke i predmatematičke vještine djece. U istraživanju su sudjelovala 362 ispitanika, učitelja razredne nastave iz osnovnih škola u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istražili smo i utvrdili da učitelji kao najvažnije izdvajaju vještine koje djeca trebaju steći prije polaska u školu: pravilno držanje olovke, odnosno pisaćeg pribora i čisto izgovaranje svih glasova kao predčitalačke vještine te prepoznavanje boja i razumijevanje prostornih odnosa (ispred, iza, gore, dolje, na, u, lijevo, desno) kao predmatematičke vještine. Nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u stavovima učitelja prema predčitalačkim vještinama u odnosu na godine radnog iskustva u nastavnoj djelatnosti, ali je utvrđena statistički značajna razlika između većine čestica predmatematičke vještine. U tom kontekstu, preporuke za buduća istraživanja odnose se na spremnost škola za djecu i spremnost obitelji i zajednica za školu te njihovu povezanost sa sociokulturnim kontekstom.The aim of the paper was to examine the attitudes of teachers of primary education (1st to 4th grade) about children’s readiness for school with an emphasis on the child’s pre-reading and pre-mathematical skills. The participants of the research were 362 respondents, teachers of primary education from primary schools in the Republic of Croatia. Our research has shown that teachers highlight the following as the most important skills that children should acquire before starting school: graphomotor (correct handling of a pencil or other writing utensils), pre-reading (clear pronunciation of all voices) and pre-mathematical (colour recognition and understanding of spatial relations; in front, behind, up, down, on, in, left, right). No statistically significant difference was found in teachers’ attitudes towards pre-reading skills in relation to years of work experience in teaching, but a statistically significant difference was found between the arithmetic means of most particles that examine the importance of pre-mathematical skills. In this context, recommendations for future research relate to the equipment of the school for quality educational work with children, the willingness of families and communities to cooperate with the school as well as their connection with the socio-cultural context