Developmental Readiness of Private School Children: A study of Gender Differences

Developmental Readiness plays a very crucial role in the early childhood period and sets the basis for later development. It assures a smooth and successful transition of children from pre-school to primary school. Developmental readiness work as a tool for making a child ready for school and had long term influence on academic achievement.  The present study was conducted with the aim to assess the gender difference in the developmental readiness of private school children. The sample size of the study comprised 200 children (i.e. 100 girls and 100 boys) of class-I selected through Multi-stage sampling technique. The data was collected by using a self-structured Developmental Readiness Checklist. The results of the study revealed that most of the girls and boys had a high level of skills across all domains of developmental readiness. The overall analysis of developmental readiness showed that both girls and boys were almost developmentally ready for formal schooling. The analysis of gender differences elucidates non-significant results in all domains except in cognitive and gross motor skills. Girls displayed significantly better cognitive abilities than boys whereas boys performed significantly better in gross motor skills. Some recommendation is suggested based on the results of the study.