Teacher emotional support in relation to social competence in preschool classrooms

Eija Pakarinen,Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen,Antje Von Suchodoletz

doi:10.1080/1743727x.2020.1791815

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to investigate the associations between teachers’ observed emotional support and social competence among Finnish pre-schoolers (6-year-olds). The quality of emotional support was observed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K in 47 preschool classrooms twice across the preschool year. Teachers rated children’s social competence in autumn and again in spring, using the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale (MASCS), which produced sum scores for cooperating skills, empathy, impulsivity, and disruptiveness. Consistent with the transactional model, we specified reciprocal (auto-regressive and cross-lagged) relationships within a Multilevel Structural Equation Models (MSEM) framework. The results showed that higher quality of emotional support in preschool autumn was related to more prosocial behaviours typical of the classroom during spring of the preschool year. Children’s antisocial behaviours typical of the preschool classroom were not associated with quality of emotional support or vice versa. The results emphasize the importance of responsive and sensitive classroom interactions in promoting prosocial behaviours.

Highlights

A large body of evidence suggests that children’s social competence plays an important role in their academic performance and adjustment (e.g. Caprara et al 2000; McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes 2000; Vitiello and Williford 2016)
Children’s social competence, such as the ability to cooperate with peers, regulate behaviours and emotions, and adapt to new social situations allows them to develop positive relationships with peers and teacher as well as to get the most out of the learning opportunities in the classroom (Ladd, Birch, and Buhs 1999; McClelland et al 2007)
Drawing from studies suggesting that responsive and stimulating teacher–child interactions are significant predictors of young children’s social-emotional functioning (Burchinal et al 2008; La Paro, Pianta, and Stuhlman 2004; Mashburn et al 2008; Vandell 2004), the present study aimed to examine the associations between teacher-provided emotional support and children’s social competence during the preschool year

Summary

Introduction

A large body of evidence suggests that children’s social competence plays an important role in their academic performance and adjustment (e.g. Caprara et al 2000; McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes 2000; Vitiello and Williford 2016). Social competence is an important indicator of children’s school readiness, which is directly related to their ability to form warm and supportive relationships with teachers and to engage in peer interactions and learning activities and, thereby, facilitates learning later at school (Blair 2002; Curby et al 2015). Children face increased expectations to acquire adequate pre-academic skills and to establish satisfactory relationships with their peers. This requires adaptive social behaviours to meet the complex social demands in classrooms. Following Rose-Krasnor’s (1997) theoretical model, children’s social competence is constructed both at the individual level, reflecting children’s individual skills and differences, and in interaction with the environmental context, that is, in the preschool classroom in the present study.

Methods

Results

Conclusion