An Abstract of a recent research related to the socio-emotional development of preschoolers

An Abstract of a recent research related to the Socio-Emotional Development of Preschoolers

Social and Emotional DevelopmentSocial and emotional development involves the acquisition of a set of skills. Key among them are the ability to: identify and understand ones own feelings, accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others,

Social and Emotional Development manage strong emotions and their expression in a constructive manner, regulate ones own behavior, develop empathy for others, and establish and sustain relationships.

Social CompetenceIs a culturally defined concept.What is considered acceptable social behavior in one family, community, or cultural group may be frowned uon or prohibited in another.

Given the amount of cultural diversity in Head starts programs, achieving an agreed-upon set of social behaviors or discipline practices is highly unlikely.

Teachers should strive to help children learn the kinds of behaviors that will help them become successful in school, particularly beahviors referred to in the Child outcome framework.

A major developmental task of the first five years of life is the development of self-regulation in its broadest sense. In fact, "providing the experiences that allow children to take over and self-regulate in one aspect of their lives after another is a very general description of the job of parents, teachers, and protectors of children that extends throughout early childhood and into the adolescent years"

begins in infancy as babies learn to regulate their crying, sleeping, and other behavior patterns. It extends during the preschool years to more complex self-regulationthe ability to control emotional states, to learn to delay gratification, to build relationships with other people, and to modulate other functions essential for healthy development (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000)

These developmental tasks are best accomplished during the preschool years because building positive social skills and healthy emotional relationships in young children is much easier than later trying to correct behavior and adjustment problems. In fact, preschool children who show aggressive behaviors and those who are neglected or rejected by peers are likely to encounter significant difficulties in school and in life (Katz & McClellan 1997).

Promoting young childrens Social-Emotional Development is vital for three interrelated reasons:

Positive social-emotional development provides a base for life-long learning.Social skills and emotional self-regulation are integrally related to later academic success in school.Prevention of future social and behavioral difficulties is more effective than later remediation.

childrens communicative competence can affect their classroom behavior. Young children are quite capable of learning different rules of behavior for different environments; early on, they learn that behavior that is acceptable at home is different from what is permitted in church or on the playground

. A particular challenge for Head Start teachers is that some children from high-poverty environments have not had home experiences that encourage initiative; their verbalizations and physical explorations may have been prohibited rather than encouraged (Hart & Risley 1995). As a result, these areas of their development may lag significantly and require focused intervention in preschool.

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