Proper Diagnostic Assessment of Preschool Children as a Platform for Ensuring Educational Success Cover Image

Diagnoza przedszkolna jako wsparcie sukcesu edukacyjnego dziecka
Proper Diagnostic Assessment of Preschool Children as a Platform for Ensuring Educational Success

Author(s): Marta Kromka, Katarzyna Ptaśnik-Cholewa
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education
Published by: Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie
Keywords: diagnostic assessment; preschool education; early school education; school readiness; kindergarten;educational success;

Summary/Abstract: The lowering of the age at which children begin their schooling, and the controversy surrounding this issue, have once again prompted reflection on the problem of the suitability of six-year-olds to attend school. This article draws attention to the significance of preschool education for the child’s effective fulfillment of compulsory schooling – for achieving educational success. Kindergarten, as an institution that fulfils both a caregiving and an educational role, is essential, both to provide the right conditions for overall child development and to endow a child with the competencies and skills needed by pupils in their first year at primary school. In reality a child’s education already begins at kindergarten level, and from the very beginning the quality of the education they receive has an impact on their success – both in education and in life. The current article attempts to answer the question: what should be done to give children preparing for entry into the new and challenging phase of life that is school attendance the optimum chances for educational success? The authors point out that the only sound basis for impacting positively on a child’s development is possession of a comprehensive and deep knowledge of their characteristics, including both positive and negative features, so that the teacher is able to tailor their educational, didactic and care-oriented activities to the individual child. In this context, accurate, comprehensive and thorough diagnosis becomes a major aid to unlocking the child’s potential and possibilities, eliminating the causes of likely problems and making the beginning of the educational process fair and equal for all. The article also highlights the important role of educators, who are the main creators of children’s educational success and are responsible, moreover, for conducting a systematic and properly thought through pre-school diagnostic assessment.

  • Issue Year: 9/2014
  • Issue No: 3 (33)
  • Page Range: 105-122
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish