Parents' attitudes towards children's adjustment to a pre-school institution

The aim of this research study is to examine parents' attitudes towards the process of children's adjustment to a pre-school institution, as well as towards separation difficulties which are encountered when a child starts attending kindergarten. Research results provide answers to whether parents are familiar with the problems manifested in the children's adjustment process, as well as with the possibilities of successfully overcoming such issues. The research included 763 parents of pre-school children in the territory of Serbia. The differences in parents' attitudes have been analysed relative to their sex, education and age. In the course of research the authors resorted to a five-point Likert scale composed of 16 items grouped into the following categories: factors which influence the process of adjustment, indicators of a successfully completed adjustment process and methods for overcoming the issues raised in the process of children's adjustment to a pre-school institution. Parents believe that children's satisfaction when they attend kindergarten is a more significant indicator of a successfully completed adjustment process relative to the absence of crying and deprecation, as well as that for the purposes of overcoming the difficulties which occur when children start attending a pre-school institution parents most frequently introduce preschool teachers to their child's habits and traits, and later talk with the child about events in the kindergarten. Research results indicate the presence of statistically significant differences in parents' attitudes relative to their sex, i.e. they indicate that the adjustment period is more stressful for mothers than for fathers