Parental educational anxiety during children’s transition from kindergarten to primary school and children’s adjustment in first grade

Abstract

Transition from kindergarten to primary school is an important milestone in a child’s life, and successful adjustment to first grade is associated with academic, social, and emotional gains throughout childhood and into adulthood. Based on ecological models, the present study investigates the transition to primary school from the perspective of the parents, with a specific focus on Parental Educational Anxiety (PEA). The research aims to explore the factors influencing PEA during the transition from kindergarten to primary school and investigate its impact on children’s adjustment to first grade. It was hypothesized that PEA would be influenced by parental gender, educational level, and the child’s birth order, and that PEA would predict children’s school adjustment. To assess PEA, an adapted version of the Measurement Questionnaire of Parents’ Anxiety about their Children’s Education” (MQPAE) was employed, while children’s school adjustment was measured using the “Nurture Group Reintegration Readiness Scale”. Regression analysis indicated that higher levels of parental education predicted successful school adjustment in the first grade, R2 = .105, F (1, 55) = 6.487, p = .014. Hierarchical linear regression analysis, after controlling for demographic variables of parents and children showed, statistically significant, F (10, 46) = 2.541, p = .016. PEA emerged as an explanatory factor, accounting for 35.6% of the variance in children’s school adjustment. Contrary to our predictions, parental gender and child’s birth order were not correlated with PEA. The present study’s findings are in accordance with a recent body of research conducted in China that elevates parental educational anxiety to a prominent topic for educational research and policy making.