Educational Alternatives, Volume 21, 2023

Abstract: The number of children with special educational needs (SEN) who learn in inclusive education is increasing year by year in Hungary, and the number of children with learning, attention and behavioural difficulties/disorders is the largest problems between them (more than 70% of all SEN students in our country). We know that motor skills and behavioural functions are important factors in school readiness. So the aim of our study was to assess the risk of movement problems, learning difficulties and emotional/behavioural problems in children who will start compulsory schooling in the school year of 2022-2023 in Eger (n=199). To research this topic we used MSSST screening test and SDQ questionnaire (version for teachers to children between 4-17 years). According to our results 47 of 199 (24% of the sample), typically developing children showed risk for learning problems. Almost 30% of the sample showed motor, 36% emotional/behavioural problems before school beginning. Most of children in the sample had problems in pro-social behaviour, like adaptability, empathy and/or helping others (36%) and showed hyperactive patterns (29%). We found that children who had risk for learning problems (47 children in the sample), 30 showed problems with their behavioural and emotion, too (p=0.00; Cramer's V=0.320), while of the 72, who had at risk of emotional/behavioural problems, 30 between them were classified as at-risk of learning problems in the school. Our conclusion is that a lot of children have motor and emotional/behavioural problems in early childhood yet. Children, who have at risk of learning difficulties are more likely to show atypical behaviour patterns, but conversely it is not true. So as we see, cognitive weakness more often go hand in hand with emotional-behavioural problems, but children with emotional-behavioural problems not necessarily have learning problems.