Enhancing social-emotional well-being in young children through improving teachers\u2019 social-emotional competence and curriculum design in Hong Kong

Lawrence T Lam,Emmy M Y Wong

doi:10.1186/s40723-017-0031-0

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate an intervention programme for the enhancement of social-emotional well-being of young children through improving the social-emotional competence of kindergarten teachers and a specifically designed curriculum, in an urban city in the East Asia region. The design and some preliminary results on the outcome evaluations of the intervention programme are reported in this paper. The design of the intervention programme was based on the conceptual framework of the evidence-based Wisconsin Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. Kindergarten teachers and children under their care were recruited using a random cluster sampling technique with teachers undergoing a training programme for 2 months with hands on workshops. The social-emotional well-being of preschool children was assessed with the Social Competence and Behavioural Evaluation (SCBE-30) Scale pre- and post-intervention. Changes in outcome measures that compared assessments between baseline and post-intervention were analysed with adjustment to clustering effects. Results suggested a statistically significant improvement in social competence and reduction to anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression after intervention. These results were indicative of a potentially successful intervention programme that would require a proper trail to establish its efficacy.

Highlights

It has long been recognised that social competence is an important aspect for human development, for early childhood development, and it has been considered as a construct in developmental theory (Waters and Sroufe 1983)
This study aimed to evaluate an intervention programme for the enhancement of social-emotional well-being of young children through improving the social-emotional competence of kindergarten teachers and a designed curriculum, in an urban city in the East Asia region
This study was one of the few studies aiming to examine the current status of socialemotional well-being among young children in the East Asia Region

Summary

Introduction

It has long been recognised that social competence is an important aspect for human development, for early childhood development, and it has been considered as a construct in developmental theory (Waters and Sroufe 1983). Different views have been put forward on the definition of social competence over the past two decades. These different perspectives range from the innate tendency of prosocial or inappropriate behaviour; personal ability in social adaptability; and the ability for demonstrating appropriate behaviour in different social situations (Dirks et al 1977). Eriksson, and Nieminen proposed a conceptual model that described the essential components of social competence as social skills, social adjustment, and social performance in examining the relationship between social competence and epilepsy In this model, social adjustment refers to the absence of behavioural problems, and social performance reflects prosocial behaviour and social participation (Rantanen et al 2012)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion