Examination of the Relationship between the Language Development Levels and Social Acknowledgement Situations in 5-6 Year-Old Preschool Children

Abstract

In this study, the relationship between the level of language development and social acknowledgement situations of 5-6 year-old children attending to a preschool institution was examined. The participants of the study, which is in the screening model, are 327 children in the 5-6 age group who are educated in kindergartens and their teachers. In order to determine children’s social acknowledgement situation, “Teacher Form” of “The Self Perception Scale for Children S.P.S.C”, and “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test P.P.V.T”  for word recognition in language development levels were utilized as data gathering instruments. Additionally, “Personal Information Form” designed by the researcher was utilized in order to identify the demographical features of children. The data collected were analyzed via Pearson correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis techniques. According to the results, a significant linear relationship was determined between the language development levels and social acknowledgement situations of 5-6 years old children. According to the regression analysis, the subdimensions “Cognitive Competence”, “Acceptance by Friends” and “Physical Competence” of The Self Perception Scale for Children Teacher Form were determined as an important predictor of the scores derived from Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.

Keywords: preschool education, language development, social acknowledgement