Predicting School Adaptation Using the Nursery Teacher's Rating Development Scale for Children (NDSC): A Longitudinal Follow-up Study from Nursery School to Elementary School

Abstract

This study investigated relations between scores on the Nursery Teacher's Rating Development Scale for Children (NDSC) and school adaptation, as well as the predictability of school adaptation based on NDSC scores. Two kinds of data were available for 386 toddlers: the NDSC as completed by nursery school teachers in the previous academic year at nursery school, and the Teacher's Rating School Adaptation Scale for Elementary School Students-All Student Version (TSSA-EA) completed by elementary school teachers six months after these children finished nursery school. Analyses of correlations between the NDSC and TSSA-EA revealed a relation between the NDSC scores and school adaptation. Multiple linear regression analyses and risk analyses indicated that the subscales of the NDSC predicted the following subscales of the TSSA-EA: Academic Problems, Psychosomatic Problems, Interpersonal Problems, and Emotional Problems.