e-Pedagogium 2026, 26(3):24-38 | DOI: 10.5507/epd.2026.020

DELAYED SCHOOL ENTRY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CZECH AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH DAT

Nikola Frkalováa, Klára Špačkováa
a Katedra psychologie, Pedagogická fakulta Univerzita Karlova, Myslíkova 7, 110 00 Praha, ORCID: 0000-0003-0202-6602

Delayed school entry is a common practice in the Czech educational system, intended to provide children with more time to mature and to facilitate their adaptation to the school environment. However, the Czech Republic has long ranked among the countries with the highest proportion of delayed school entries in Europe, which raises questions about the usefulness of this measure. The present study takes the form of a narrative review and analyzes four Czech and seven international empirical studies that deal with the effectiveness of delayed school entry and its impacts on children's educational pathways. International research shows mainly short-term benefits in the first years of schooling, whereas long-term effects are ambiguous or even negative. Czech findings confirm partial benefits in the area of social and cognitive skills; however, the available studies show significant methodological weaknesses. The results of both research lines indicate that the effect of delayed school entry is conditioned by the individual characteristics of the child, family background, and the institutional context; therefore, the effectiveness of delayed school entry cannot be unequivocally confirmed.

Keywords: delayed school entry; school readiness; social skills; cognitive abilities; school achievement.

Received: September 28, 2025; Revised: August 12, 2026; Accepted: September 29, 2026; Published: November 13, 2026  Show citation

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Frkalová, N., & Špačková, K. (2026). DELAYED SCHOOL ENTRY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CZECH AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH DAT. e-Pedagogium, 26(3), 24-38. doi: 10.5507/epd.2026.020
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