The development and validation of a social emotional school readiness scale

English: The first year at school is a major life transition. School readiness assessments do not always assess social-emotional competence although it is considered to be a key aspect of successful school adjustment. This omission is compounded by the absence of an appropriate measure of social-emotional school readiness. Subsequently, this research aimed at the identification of behaviours that underpin the major social-emotional school readiness constructs, namely Self Awareness and Regulation, Social Relationships, Empathy and Coping Skills. A scale, in the form of a questionnaire (BUSSE-SR), was developed for such assessment. A convenience sample of 338 Grade R children in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, were evaluated by their parents and Grade R teachers according to these scales. The same cohort was assessed the following year by their Grade One teachers in terms of their adjustment to school and academic performance in Life Skills, Literacy and Numeracy. The results indicated that the predictive validity of the scales was greater for Grade R teachers than Grade R parents. Through factor analysis, 28 behaviours of the most valid items were identified for the final version of the scales. The correlation coefficient for social-emotional competence and school adjustment, and social-emotional competence and academic performance, indicated a significant relationship between Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Social Relationships, Coping Skills and school adjustment and performance in Grade One.