Rosemary Burton

A social-emotional intervention for at-risk 4-year-olds

Abstract Implemented a social-emotional intervention for at-risk 4-year-olds in seven day-care classes. Teachers were trained to perform activities associated with relationship building, emotional understanding, and social problem solving, over a 32-week period. The childrens social-emotional status was assessed via observation and teacher questionnaire at the beginning and end of the period, and compared to a group who did not experience the intervention. Children who had the intervention, compared to children who did not experience it, were observed showing decreases in negative emotion, greater involvement, and more initiative in positive peer activity, and were seen as improving socially by their teachers.

Social Problem Solving

Because thinking and emotion work together in our lives, it is important to address the child’s skills in thinking about interpersonal interactions, going beyond his or her emotional expression and experience, knowledge, and regulation: When there is a disagreement or a problem, what is it (problem identification)? What can be done (generation of alternative solutions)? How do I make a successful solution happen (means-end thinking)? How will I know if it works; what solution will work best (consequential thinking)? Even children as young as the preschool age range begin to learn these important thinking skills, which support social interaction.

“Are You My Friend?”: How Two Young Children Learned To Get Along with Others

Abstract This study recorded and analyzed the process of emotional socialization that occurred during a primary prevention program conducted in an urban day care center with 4-year-old children considered at risk for academic failure. A case study approach monitored the progress of two children through the yearlong course of the primary prevention project, using qualitative observation and interview methods. The purpose of the project was to isolate and describe the key factors in the primary prevention program that appeared particularly influential in the emotional socialization process. The study described the changes in social skills and emotional expression in the two children over the course of the intervention. The study also described and examined how the different components of the program interacted to effect change.

Assessing Emotional and Social Competence During Preschool Years

Why do we need to assess preschoolers’ emotional and social competence? We have made clear throughout the previous chapters that we see universal social-emotional programming as a prime goal, so that every preschooler might be exposed to the salutary effects of their caregivers’ efforts to promote secure attachments, emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and social problem-solving abilities. Nonetheless, we also urgently wish to reach those children who need us most. To meet both goals, psychometrically excellent assessment tools are important assets; that is, for all children it is important to document the changes wrought by social-emotional programming; as we related in earlier chapters on programming, evaluation research is often still needed. Further, when endeavoring to ameliorate risk processes and augment resilience processes of children already exhibiting social and emotional deficits, assessment is essential. Whenever possible, we must know the strengths as well as the weaknesses of each child, so that we may intervene appropriately.

What “Works”: Summarizing Our Lessons from the Field

What overarching principles can inform prevention programs to promote social and emotional learning and deter early behavior problems and their sequelae? Durlak & Wells’ recent meta-analysis (1997) asserts that a prevention approach works for a wide range of ages, from toddlers to adolescents. We already have some ideas of how to evaluate programs as effective in their promotion of social and emotional foundations for learning (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2002; Durlak & Wells, 1997; Payton et al., 2000; Ramey & Ramey, 1998; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Provisions for successful SEL programs include the following: “The earlier the better” are the watchwords for primary prevention of SEL deficits. Programming needs to begin prior to consolidation of problem behaviors. Programs must work from a theoretical perspective and implement specific strategies to alter developmental trajectories. Successful efforts to build SEL must be linked to specific developmental milestones, as well as the need to help students cope with ongoing life events and local circumstances. When decisions are made to implement targeted rather than universal programming, specific risk and protective factors (as already enumerated, see Chapter 2) should be targeted as far as is possible. Further, more and more we realize that promoting positive influences on SEL may be more effective than attempting to counteract the negative.

Targeting Programs for Preschool Emotional and Social Competence

The example cited above really happened. It was one in a long list of challenging behaviors shown by the four-year-old in question. His day care teachers were desperate for ways to help him and others improve their behavior to make the classroom a place where children and teachers could work, learn, and play productively and in peace. They fervently wanted to find ways to meet this goal--NOW.

Emotion Understanding and Emotion Regulation: Twin Keys to Preschool Sel

Preschoolers express emotions vividly and frequently. Emotions, whether their own or others’, are central experiences in their lives--immediate, salient, and important in their social transactions. Not surprisingly, their most important social tasks include managing emotional arousal, so that coordination of play is possible (Gottman & Mettetal, 1986). Succeeding at this social task calls for emotion knowledge, the second key aspect of emotional competence. As active participants in the social world, preschoolers continually make interpretations and attributions about their own and others’ emotional behaviors (Dodge, Pettit, McClaskey, & Brown, 1986; Miller & Aloise, 1989).

Guiding Preschoolers’ Behavior: Short-Term Meanings, Long-Term Outcomes

Many preschool-aged children are learning what it means to be part of a group for the very first time. Along with secure attachment relationships, they need guidance from adults with regard to the rules for behavior in a group situation. In addition, children need to learn the life skills necessary to function alone or interact responsibly with others, caring for their own and others’ needs. They learn these skills by receiving both indirect and direct guidance from adults.

Social Problem-Solving Applications: Lessons from the Field

In this chapter we will outline the means of conveying social problem solving to preschoolers. Methods to train such social problem solving with preschoolers are well documented (Shure, 1992, 1993). In general, the training methods espoused in the tradition of Shure and Spivack (1980) proceed as follows, with some focusing more or less on certain components: First, vocabulary important to communicating about social problems is introduced (e.g., Is, Some-All, Not, Or, And, Because, Maybe/Might, Same-Different); “same-different” is especially introduced in order to allow children to discuss that they have the same or different goals during interaction. Next, understanding feelings is typically introduced. In the programming discussed in this volume, this topic is a focus in and of itself. Stories are often told, to aid the children in learning to “read” a social situation and about fairness. Children are taught about, and given practice in, generating possible solutions. At the same time, program leaders introduce the identification of goals during social interaction. Finally, often through stories and role playing, the groups of children and leaders work on evaluating the multiple solutions generated, picking a solution and carrying it out, and evaluating its outcome.

Introduction: The Importance of Emotional and Social Competence

Emotions have been in the spotlight of the popular press recently, so much so that emotional competence (or “emotional intelligence”; see Brenner & Salovey, 1997) is touted as equally important as intellectual prowess. This focus is appropriate, and is as important for children as for adults. Emotional competence is central to children’s abilities to interact with others and form relationships. Young children must learn to respond emotionally, yet simultaneously and strategically apply their knowledge about emotions and their expression to relationships with others, so that they can negotiate interpersonal exchanges and regulate their own emotional experience (Saarni, 1990). Young children’s use of these developing emotional competencies within social processes contributes to success in interacting with one’s peers. In turn, success with peers is a foundation for social-emotional success in later life.