Motivation and school readiness in kindergarten children

School readiness is an issue of concern for parents and school systems alike. In the past, school readiness has been measured as a function of either developmental maturation or academic achievement. Children's motivation to learn has typically been one of the areas that was neglected within the school readiness equation. This dissertation examines a battery of motivational measures and their relation to other measures of young children's achievement, ability, and school readiness.; Fifty kindergarten children from a suburban school district participated in this study Motivational data were collected from a number of different sources, including parents, teachers, and the children. Parents completed a general information survey and a children's motivation scale. Teachers completed a behavioral scale and an academic competence scale. Data from the children were collected through two self-report scales, one for perceived competence and one for intrinsic motivation, and observational methods. Observational data, including persistence, preference for challenge, help and approval seeking, were coded from a videotaped puzzle activity session. The results of these different views of the child's motivation were compared with measures of achievement, behavior, and intelligence.; A six-variable regression model, including age, previous school experience, social skills, parent rating of competence, intrinsic motivation, and completion of a puzzle, was identified as a strong predictor of academic competence for the children. This set of variables was more predictive of academic success than a typical school readiness test. The strongest individual predictor within the model was social skills. This same set of predictors was found to be less predictive for boys than for girls. It was also found that while this set of predictors worked well for white children, it was not a significant predictor for black children.; It was recommended that future research continue to examine motivation as an indicator of academic success in young children. With the refinement of some of the original measures, a clearer picture of developing motivation should begin to emerge. Caution should be exercised with whatever assessment system is developed to ensure that it is equally predictive for all segments of the population, not just the mainstream.