Analysis of mothers' attitudes toward cognitive-social skills of preschool children

There is a clear correlation between the quality of early childhood educational programs and future academic and social success of a person. Therefore, the present study investigated mothers' attitudes toward cognitive-social skills of preschool children.

The present study was qualitative-descriptive phenomenological research. The sample consisted of 20 mothers selected by a targeted sampling with two criterions including at least a bachelor degree and one child in preschool age. The data of this study were analyzed based on the lived experiences of mothers and by conducting semi-structured interviews about mothers' attitudes toward cognitive-social skills of children. In order to verify the validity and formality of the interview questions, professors of psychology and experts in qualitative research had been consulted. Then, all obtained data were analyzed by the seven-step Colaizzi and MAXODA software version 18.

The present study eventuated in 2 main themes, seven subsets of cognitive skills consisted of dynamic memory, visual processing, recognition, recall and information processing, problem solving and purposeful plays, and four subsets of social skills including family, training classes, communication with peers and qualifications in social skills.

As children's success at school depends on events they have experienced before the school age, it seems necessary to engage them in basic skills improvement programs such as cognitive and social skills improvement programs which appear essential for later academic success at school age.