Factors related to school readiness in children: A cross-sectional analytic study of elementary school children in Manado

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School readiness is an overall condition of someone which makes him/her ready to give response or answer in a certain way to various situations. School readiness can be influenced by various factors that will affect the success of the ability in school until adulthood. AIM: This study aims to determine the factors related to school readiness. METHODS: This is an analytic observational study with cross-sectional design, conducted at 4 elementary schools in Malalayang district, Manado, Indonesia, using two-step random sampling between August and November 2018 (n = 150). Associations between each independent variable and school readiness were assessed by bivariate analysis using Chi-square; the significant value used is p < 0.01. Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 23. RESULTS: Of 150 subjects, there were 109 children who were ready for school and 41 children who were not ready for school. Of the five factors studied, it was found that stunted affected school readiness (odds ratio [OR] 21.6; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.68–70.32, p < 0.000), maternal education status affected school readiness (OR 4.1; 95% CI: 1.75–9.63, p < 0.001), socioeconomic status affects school readiness (OR 5.1; 95% CI: 2.35–11.11, p < 0.000), and preschool affect school readiness (OR 6.8; 95% CI: 3.1–14.9, p < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, there were three factors that had an association with school readiness, namely height, preschool participation, and socioeconomic status (OR 34.4; 95% CI: 7.19–166.6, p < 0.001, OR 6.5; 95% CI: 2.28–18.55 p < 0.0001, OR 4.8l; 95% CI: 1.59–14.92, respectively). CONCLUSION: There were associations between height, maternal education status, socioeconomic status, and participation in preschool with school readiness. Height of the children was strongly associated with school readiness. There was no association observed between the employment status of mothers and school readiness. There needs to be special attention to the readiness of children, especially in parents, educators, and pediatricians. Various scattered early childhood education centers can be very helpful to prepare children to achieve optimal child quality in accordance with the potential of each child.