Assessing social studies competencies of 5-year-olds across different early childhood education programs in Slovenia

The main objective of the research was to analyse the differences in children's competencies in social studies among the various kindergarten programs in Slovenia. The assessment of competencies of five-year-old children enrolled in full-day, half-day, and shorter (240-hour) early childhood education programs were compared. The study included teachers’ assessments of 955 five-year-old children, with a balanced distribution by gender and homogeneous age group, with a special focus on evaluating children's competencies in shorter programs. The results regarding the differences at the beginning and end of the shorter programs for the social studies competencies show statistically significant improvements in competencies, even though the duration of the program is only 240 hours. Comparisons between programs revealed significant differences on all items for the social studies between children in shorter programs and those in full-day or half-day programs, with children in shorter programs scoring lower compared to children in full-day or half-day programs. No significant differences in social studies competencies were found between children in full-day and half-day programs. The study results are crucial for developing teaching and learning strategies in early childhood education as they highlight the need for an approach that considers both the quality and duration of early childhood education programs.