Self-Perceived Competence among Preschool Children in Relation to Teacher-Perceived Competence

The aims of this study were to examine the utility of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSC; Harter & Pike, 1984) with preschoolers and to explore correspondence between children's and teacher's perceptions of child competence. Children's self-perceptions of competence were not internally consistent within the physical, maternal acceptance, or cognitive domains. Children's ratings of their competence were significantly higher than teacher ratings only for the domain of physical competence. Contrary to expectations, teachers' perceptions of children's peer acceptance and cognitive competence were significantly higher than children's self-perceptions. Associations between children's self-perceptions and teacher ratings were nonexistent. Overall, findings suggest that the PSPCSC may not be an appropriate measure of self-perceived competence in preschool children. It may be that teacher and child reports of perceived competence tap different constructs. Additional instrument development work is needed in this area in order to more reliably measure preschool children's self-perceived competence.