An assessment of first graders' self-concept in relation to their amount of pre-first grade school experience

Brenda Gayle Valentine, Tennessee State University

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

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