Abstract:

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationship between preschool children's self-regulation and social skills. Within the scope of this purpose, the study determined whether preschool children's self-regulation skills and social skills differ significantly according to the variables of the child's gender, family structure, mother's educational status, father's educational status and mother's employment status. Design & Methodology: The study sample consisted of 478 children (241 girls, 237 boys) selected by convenience sampling. The study obtained the data using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulder Touch Guidelines (HTKS) adapted to Turkish by Sezgin and Demiriz (2015) and the Preschool Social Skills Rating Scale (OSBED) developed by Ömeroğlu et al. (2014). Since the data related to the variables showed normal distribution, the study used an independent sample T-test and ANOVA test in the analysis. Additionally, the study examined the correlation relationship between children's self-regulation skills and social skills with Pearson correlation analysis. Findings: As a result of the research, there was a significant positive relationship between children's self-regulation skill scores and social skill scores. Moreover, there was a significant difference in children's self-regulation and social skill levels according to the child's gender, family structure, mother's educational status, father's educational status and mother's employment status. Implications & Suggestions: Parents can get training (conferences, seminars, etc.) on self-regulation and social skills. In the classroom, teachers can organize activities to support the development of children's self-regulation and social skills and to participate in their families. The researchers can conduct similar studies with different sample groups and compare the results.

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