An assessment of first graders' self-concept in relation to their amount of pre-first grade school experience
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the degree to which the amount of preschool experience affects the self-concept of the first grade child. The instrument used in the study was an adaptation of the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. Information was gathered from an East Tennessee City School System which provided one or two years of preschool for handicapped and economically disadvantaged students and kindergarten on a full-day schedule. Information was also gathered from a Middle Tennessee County School System which did not provide preschool for students and provided kindergarten on a half-day schedule. A total of seventy-two economically disadvantaged students was selected to participate in the study. The data were subjected to a five-way analysis of variance to determine if significant differences existed between the self-concept of preschoolers and non-preschoolers in the categories of physical-self, emotional-self, family, school, general behavior, and total self-concept. Among the conclusions, the following were deemed to be most significant. (1) There was no significant difference in the total self-concept among first graders who attended kindergarten on a half-day schedule, first graders who attended one year of preschool and kindergarten on a full-day schedule, and first graders who attended two years of preschool and kindergarten on a full-day schedule. (2) The total self-concept of females was enhanced by their attendance of preschool while the total self-concept of males was encumbered by their attendance of preschool. (3) The self-concept of females in relation to school increased as they received more schooling whereas the self-concept of males in relation to school decreased as they received more schooling. (4) First graders who attended preschool before kindergarten has a more positive self-concept in relation to family life as opposed to those who did not attend preschool. (5) Black and white first graders had comparable self-concepts in relation to their amounts of preschool attendance. (6) First graders with one parent and first graders with two parents had comparable self-concepts in relation to their amount of preschool attendance. (7) First graders with one or no siblings and first graders with two or more siblings had comparable self-concepts in relation to their amount of preschool attendance. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
Subject Area
Elementary education
Recommended Citation
Brenda Gayle Valentine,
"An assessment of first graders' self-concept in relation to their amount of pre-first grade school experience"
(1985).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI8802606.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI8802606