School entrance examination: Linguistic deficits in Diepholzer children

School entrance examination: Linguistic deficits in Diepholzer children

In the district of Diepholz, the results of the school entrance examination are alarming and raises questions about the language skills of preschool children. More and more children who speak German as a second language have difficulty making themselves understandable at school. Current statistics show that almost two thirds of these children cannot follow linguistically in class, an increase of 51.6 percent four years ago to 65 percent.

Christine Sandkuhl, the head of the district's specialist service at the district's health department, noted during a meeting of the specialist committee for youth, health and social affairs that this development could have serious consequences, since the ability to use language is crucial for education success.

results of the investigations

A total of 2,454 children were examined, 29 percent of whom speak German as a second language and have foreign roots. A visit to kindergartens is announced in 97 percent of preschoolers before schooling, but there were considerable deficits in the investigations. Over a quarter of the children showed inadequate medical examinations, and eight percent of the parents could not provide a provision.

In addition, the results of concerns about the vaccination rates show concern. More than a third of the preschoolers are not or not completely vaccinated. Problems in the area of hearing and seeing were also found: seven percent of the children have strikingly poor hearing and 15 percent suffer from visual deficits. A comprehensive medical examination was recommended for many children.

The role of electronic media

Another frightening aspect is the use of electronic media. Christine Sandkuhl described the daily screen times as "alarming" because nine percent of the preschoolers spend more than two hours a day in front of the screen. The stagnation of these figures shows that the situation does not improve what is worrying for the development of the children.

The majority of children who use the German language as a family language is relatively stable at 71 percent. However, there are considerable language barriers: 15 percent of the children do not speak German, 24 percent only rudimentary and 26 percent have pronounced mistakes in their language control. Only 21 percent of the children speak German without errors.

Another topic is motor skills: almost a third shows abnormalities in holistic coordination, and over 40 percent have problems with fine and grapho motor skills. Access to sporting activities could also be improved, since only 41 percent of children are active in a sports club.

The high number of priorities who cannot swim. 64 percent cannot show seahorses, which is alarming, especially in view of the fact that drowning is the most common cause of death in children up to five years. There are waiting lists for swimming courses, but the urgency of this problem requires immediate measures.

Another health concern is the dental problems: every sixth child was affected by caries, and five percent suffer from severe overweight, while 86 percent can have a normal weight. Psychosocial behavioral problems were found in one third of the children examined, which illustrates the need for more extensive support and prevention measures.

Overall, the experts came to the conclusion that 1,848 children were recognized as fully school -enabled. However, the challenge lies in the significant part of the preschoolers, which will have difficulties in starting the school system due to the deficit mentioned.