Jordanian mothers' perceptions of their children's social competence: an examination of family factors and demographic variables

Abstract

Children's social competence is an area of research that receives minimal attention from Jordanian researchers. It is important to investigate this area of development so as to provide parents with information about the nature of social competence and possible factors affecting its development. This research study examined Jordanian mothers' perceptions of their kindergarten children's social competence: individual and social attributes. Perceptions were investigated in relation to family size, child's gender, mothers' education level, and marital status. Social competence ratings were obtained from 726 mothers who responded to the study's two-part questionnaire developed by the researcher. The results revealed an average level of social competence ratings by mothers on the total scale with higher ratings for children's social attributes compared to individual attributes. Significant results were found between the study's variables and mothers' perceptions of children's competencies. Mothers who are married, with the least number of children, and with higher education levels rated competencies higher compared to their counterparts. Significant differences were also found for gender with mothers rating the social competence of girls higher than boys. Directions for future research include investigating social competence using multiple sources of data.