Social Competence Of Kindergarten Children In Public School Of Naypyitaw Council Area In Myanmar

The purpose of this study was to investigate social competence of kindergarten(KG)Children in Public School of Naypyitaw Council Area in Myanmar.Social competence during the early year of life for a child is crucial.Since 2015,Kindergarten is implemented and emphasized as a special case in Myanmar.So,the survey method was used in this study to know the social competence of Kindergarten in Naypyitaw council area in Myanmar.The Peen Interactive Peer Play Scale(PIPPS),a rating scale for social competence created with parent and teacher versions,was employed to measure children’s social competence.This instrument for social competences is a promising early childhood assessment measure,which can establish linkages between the home environment and school environment as well as utilizing multiple informants.Data was collected through questionnaires,and two sets of questionnaires for teachers and parents included.A total number of 434 parents whose kindergartens(KG)students(233 males and 201 females)and the 11 teachers from five public school kindergarten from Naypyitaw council area are selected as participants in the survey.The random sampling technique was used to select the schools,and questionnaires were administered to teachers and parents of those selected schools.Data collection was completed in August 2018.Data were analyzed by using SPSS Version 20 and calculated t-test,ANOVA and regression techniques.According to the descriptive results,the average social competence score of children through the perception of parents was(X=58.21)and the corresponding score evaluated by teachers was(X=55.90),which is a little higher as compared to the study of Lee E.Y.(2006)in which the perception of parents was(X=47.83)and teacher perception was(X=48.14)for social competence and Gagnon,S.G.(2007),in which the perception of parents was(X=49.20)and teacher perception was(X=45.23)in the earlier years for peer interactive play and social-emotional development,and but still has room to be improved given that the highest possible score is 128.The social competence of children by parents’ education was significantly different,and the children of High school level degree parents were higher in social competence than those of parents with graduate degrees and of those whose education level were below High school level degree parents(P=0.01 and p=0.05).Results showed that the social competence of children exhibited a positive correlation with gender and sibling,which were also in accordance with regression results.Another result concerning Kindergarten(KG)training certificate showed that there was no significant difference in social competence by teachers’training certificate.Findings also showed the ranked order of children social competence according to parent’s job(non-stable job=0,stable private job=1,and stable government job=2)(-0.099)has a negative correlation at 0.01 levels.