Anxiety and functional readiness for learning activities in first-graders

Introduction. The modern system of primary education dictates high requirements to children, which determines the relevance of the study of the child’s functional readiness for schooling. The child’s readiness for school provides an ability to fully satisfy conditions of systematic education and includes intellectual, emotional and social aspects. The emotional state of the child and the level of anxiety are important factors reflecting the adequacy of school adaptation during this period. Objective: assessment of anxiety and functional readiness for being taugh tin first-graders. Materials and methods. There were conducted survey and testing of sixty one 7–8 years first-graders, including 31 boys (50.8%) and 30 girls (49.2%). The children were taught in different classes: two classes with a separate form of education (only boys (19 students) and only girls (20 students)) and one class of joint education (together boys and girls — 22 students). Anxiety was assessed according to the method of “Scale of socio-situational anxiety” by O. Kondash (1973) adapted by V.V. Katunova (2020). The assessment of functional readiness for school was carried out using the Kern–Irasek orientation test of the school maturity. Results. When analyzing school and self-assessment anxiety, a significant predominance of excessive calmness was noted among 62.3% and 65.6% of children, respectively (95% CI 50.1–74.5% and 53.7–77.5%). When assessing school anxiety, a significant prevalence of normal anxiety for girls studying in a separate form of education — 55% (95% CI 33,2–76.8) was revealed in comparison with children studying in a joint form of education — 13.6% (95% CI –0.7–8.0). When considering aggressiveness, a significant prevalence of a low level of aggressiveness among girls — 35% (95% CI 14.1–55.9), and a high level among boys — 68.4% (95% CI 47.5–89.3) in comparison with children studying in the joint form of education (4.5%; 95% CI –4.2–13.2 and 27.3%; 95% CI 8.7–45.9, respectively). Reliable risks of high interpersonal anxiety and a high level of aggressiveness for boys studying in a separate form of education have been identified, which, however, requires further research. Conclusion. The data obtained make it possible to identify a risk group among children for the formation of school maladaptation and inadequate response to the academic load.