| The purpose of this research was to compare the emotional quotient (EQ) of 3-5 years old children looked after by preschools of different standards under the administration of the Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) of Muangsamsib District , Ubon Ratchathani Province. The EQ scores of the children were calculated based on the perception of their respective preschool teachers. Twelve preschools were randomly selected from a total of 35 preschools in the target area. Of these twelve, two were preschools whose standard level was deemed “improvement required”; nine were preschools whose standard level was deemed “basic”; and one was a preschool deemed “good”. All children (374 children) looked after by the 12 preschools were evaluated for their EQ scores. Data were collected during December 2007 and February 2008. The data were collected by three instruments. The first instrument was a demographic questionnaire eliciting information regarding the children’s parents, the children themselves, and their preschool teachers. The second instrument was the preschool assessment standard protocol developed by the Department of Health. The third instrument was the Emotional Quotient Scale of 3-to 5-year old children developed by the Department of Mental Health.
In both multiple regression and logistic regression analyses, the socio-demographic covariates were controlled for the parents and the children; these included age, education level, income, family relationship; and physiological data of children including sex, body weight, height, weight compared to age, body weight compared to height, past history of illness, and history of congenital diseases. The multiple regression results showed that the children looked after by the preschools with the “basic” level or by the preschools with “good” level had significantly lower EQ scores than those looked after by the preschools with “improvement required” level (p<.05) both in total EQ scores and the EQ scores in the following sub-categories= kindness, moral judgment, proficiency, enthusiasm/desire for knowledge, verbal self-expressiveness, happiness, satisfaction, and cheerfulness. It was also found that the children looked after by the preschools with the “basic” level had significantly lower EQ scores than those looked after by the preschools with the “improvement required” level (p<.05) only in terms of morality (a key EQ component) and adaptation to change (a EQ sub-component). However, in two other EQ sub-components= the ability to evaluate their emotional state, and heartiness, the children did not show any significant difference by their preschools’ quality of care level. The logistic regression analyses with the covariates being controlled, showed that the preschools with the “basic” level had a higher proportion of children with the appropriate EQ scores in the key component of happiness than those with the “improvement required” level (p<.05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of children with overall age-appropriate EQ scores and EQ scores in other key EQ components among the three preschools by standard level. |