The Relationship of Five-Year-Olds' Academic Readiness and Perceptions of Competence and Acceptance

Abstract

Research with young children suggests that the relationship between academic readiness achievement and self-perceptions of competence and social acceptance is weak, if present at all. However, most researchers have used teacher judgment as the criterion for achievement and/or a global measure of self-concept as the criterion of competence. It was postulated that academic readiness measured by a standardized test and self-perception assessed by a multidimensional evaluation instrument would result in a stronger relationship than formerly reported. The subjects, 76 5-year-olds, were administered the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery and The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Acceptance for Young Children. The significant relationship found between cognitive competence and academic readiness suggests that 5-year-olds are more realistic in assessing their own achievement than indicated by previous researchers.