Satisfaction of the first-grade teachers with children's readiness for school

This paper investigates the satisfaction of the first-grade teachers with children's achievements after attending the preschool curriculum. The aim of the research is to determine the influence of work experience, gender and place of work of the teachers on their attitudes and perception of children's readiness to start school, as well as to present differences in teachers' satisfaction with children's preparation in relation to these factors. The subject of this research is an analysis of the structure of the sample of teachers and their satisfaction with the children's preparation for school. The research sample comprises 46 teachers employed in urban and rural schools. A questionnaire composed of 14 items, rated on a five-point Likert scale, was used to assess teachers' satisfaction with children's school readiness. Factor analysis using the method of principal components (PCA) and Varimax rotation confirmed the adequate metric validity of the instrument (KMO = 0.712; Bartlett's Test of Sphericity, p = 0.000). The results of the research showed that teachers mostly expressed satisfaction with the achievement of children who attended preschool institutions, especially in the domain of the developed social skills, basic academic knowledge and work habits. However, the need for additional work on encouraging children's independence and developing critical thinking was highlighted. The conclusions of the research can contribute to the improvement of the preschool curricula and better cooperation between preschool institutions and primary schools in order to prepare children for school duties.