Transition to Elementary School in Croatia

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of an empirical study conducted in Croatia examining individual child characteristics (specific cognitive skills and social-emotional competence) and contextual factors (parental involvement in transition and the schools' readiness) as possible determinants of a successful transition to elementary school (i.e., children's early social and academic school adjustment). The results of the study with 417 first-grade students showed that specific cognitive skills were the best predictor of academic adjustment, and also a significant predictor of some social adjustment indicators, while social-emotional competence predicted the student-teacher relationship. Contextual factors showed no significance as predictors or moderators in the model. Patterns of relationships were equal for girls and boys. The chapter offers possible explanations for the study results, along with suggestions for future research and potential practical implications of the obtained results.