SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT IN THE DIGITALIZATIONOF CHILDHOOD

Digital device usage among children is increasing every year (Scott, ). Preschoolers are regularly interacting with gadgets daily (Konca, ). This raises concerns about how digital experiences impact on the child school readiness and adaptation to school educational environment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the gadget usage frequency among fi rst-grade students and their level of school adjustment. The fi nal sample consisted of  fi rst-grade students from Moscow (M = . months, SD = .). A semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant to determine their gadget usage time (in hours). Simultaneously, the study employed the school adjustment scale for teachers:  statements regarding child’s cognitive problem-solving, self-regulation, communication, and emotional comfort to diagnose the school adaptation level. Additionally, teachers provided information on each student’s academic profi ciency in mathematics, Russian language, and reading. Analyzing the obtained data using One-Way ANOVA, it was found that there are signifi cant differences in the school adjustment level among children who use gadgets with different frequencies (F = ., p = .). The study also revealed that the more hours a child spends using gadgets during the day, the lower their integral school adjustment score is (r = -., p = .). Signifi cant differences were mainly obtained for statements from the school adjustment scale related to cognitive and self-regulation components of adjustment, but not for the social-emotional component. No correlation was found with the academic profi ciency. Therefore, it can be inferred that self-regulation and cognitive components of a fi rst-grader’s school adjustment may be hindered in children who use gadgets for more than - hours per day, compared to their peers who use gadgets for about  hour per day. It is necessary to retest these fi ndings on a larger sample in a future research.