Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: This qualitative study was conducted to explore children’s social-emotional behaviors in the classroom. The participants in this study were 39 children in three different classrooms across three different preschool programs. Data were collected during morning time for one week in each classroom. This study proceeded by observing children’s social-emotional behaviors during play in their classrooms, interpreting their interactions with peers, categorizing and combining them with meaningful themes, and finding relationships between the emergent themes and contextual factors. First, this study began with descriptions of and reflections on the classrooms for understanding each classroom context. Second, children’s general social-emotional behaviors during play in their classrooms were described. Children exhibited both prosocial and conflict behaviors as well as positive and negative emotions. Third, among children’s diverse behaviors, there were some significant, frequent, and evident behaviors in their peer interactions. These were power, teamwork, and social-emotional difficulties. Then, the associations between these themes and contextual factors were addressed. This qualitative study of children’s social-emotional behaviors in their classrooms provides information and knowledge that can be used to inform teachers about young children’s peer interactions in the classroom. Its results can help increase teachers’ understandings of patterns in children’s behaviors and their associations with features of classroom contexts.
Author: Sung-Ae Kim
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2915099429