Children's Emotional Competence Research Articles

Relationships between teacher–child relationships, resilience, and emotional competence: an empirical study of left-behind children in regional China

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the relationships between teacher-child relationships, resilience, and emotional competence with an initial sample of 881 (filtered to 739) Chinese young children in a rural region in Guangdong Province, China. They were measured by using Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS), Children’s emotional competence scale (CECS), and Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers Second Edition (DECA-P2). The results indicated that: (1) teacher–child relationships positively predict resilience and emotional competence in children, including left-behind children; (2) emotional competence positively predict resilience in children, including left-behind children; (3) no different patterns found between left-behind children and other children on their psychological traits in the study. This study would enhance both parents and early childhood teachers’ understandings of the key factors that affect children’s wellbeing and social development, and thus implement appropriate strategies for supporting left-behind children.

Training and coaching early childhood teachers to foster social, emotional, and behavioral competence of children in Turkey.

A growing evidence base demonstrates the effectiveness of teacher training and coaching interventions to improve teacher- and child-level outcomes in high-income countries. However, more information is needed to show the benefits of these interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To provide an evidence base for LMICs, we conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of a teacher training and coaching intervention for promoting children's social, emotional, and behavioral competence, Reaching Educators and Children (REACH) Classroom Check-Up (CCU), on teachers' behaviors, teacher-child relationship quality, and children's social competence and problem behaviors. Participants included 20 early childhood teachers and 175 children (4-6 year olds) in Turkey. Findings indicate that REACH CCU increased teachers' positive behaviors and teacher behaviors that support social, emotional, and behavioral competence of children, while reducing teachers' negative behaviors. Teachers in REACH CCU demonstrated an increased level of closeness and reduced levels of conflict with children in their classrooms. Furthermore, REACH CCU improved teacher-reported social competence and reduced problem behaviors of children. Results provide evidence that REACH CCU is a promising approach for improving teachers' behaviors, teacher-child relationship quality, and children's social, emotional, and behavioral competence, especially in LMICs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultivating young minds: Exploring the relationship between child socio-emotional competence, early childhood education and care quality, creativity and self-directed learning

Creativity and self-directed learning (SDL) have been identified as two key skills that children need to develop for success in the 21st century. As such, developing such skills has become a priority. High quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can play a pivotal role in supporting a myriad of children's developmental outcomes. This study uses multi-level modeling on 484 children between 30 and 75 months of age (Mean age = 48) across 87 ECEC classrooms in Toronto. We tested associations between two skills (creativity and SDL), children's social and emotional competence (hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, and emotional problems) and ECEC quality (professional development, ratios and emotional support). We found significant relationships between children's social and emotional outcomes and their creativity skills, but not their SDL. In addition, the proportion of professional development opportunities conducted onsite was positively associated with children's creativity. Implications for future research, policy and practice are discussed. Educational relevance statementThis study contributes to the understanding of how to support two skills needed in the wake of the fourth industrial revolution. First, we examine the relationship between children's social and emotional development and their creativity and self-directed learning. We then examine the role played by the quality of their early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings as contexts to learn these important skills when accounting for their children's social and emotional development. Finally, we test the robustness of these associations by controlling for important contextual factors (age, months in the program, family income, and maternal education).

The Effects of Parent-child Attachment Style and Parenting Style on Children's Emotional Competence

Emotional competence refers to an individual's ability to recognize, understand, and regulate emotions. It has a significant impact on an individual's adaptability, overall well-being, social connectivity, and career success. The emotional competence of children is largely influenced by the environment in which children are raised, family dynamics and parental upbringing. The present study aims to explore the effects of parent-child attachment style and parenting style on children's emotional competence. Through a systematic review of studies involving different age groups and experimental methods, the results consistently show that children's emotional competence is positively correlated with secure parent-child attachment and authoritative parenting style. The practical significance of the present study is to promote a greater awareness of children's emotional competence within families and society. By enhancing parental understanding of the impact of parent-child attachment relationship and parenting style on children's emotional competence, this research aims to facilitate the adoption of more effective and reasonable family education methods.

Teachers’ Beliefs : Kompetensi Emosional dan Sosialisasi Emosi pada Anak Usia Dini

Teachers' beliefs about emotions can provide an overview of how teachers support the development of emotional competence in early childhood positively. This study aimed to investigate preschool teachers’ beliefs about emotional competence and emotion socialization. A sample of 194 preschool teachers from 22 Kindergartens completed the Teachers' Emotion Beliefs Scale (TEBS) and open questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques and thematic analysis. The research results showed that 67% of teachers had developmentally appropriate beliefs, while 33% of teachers had beliefs that were not appropriate to children's emotional development. The developmentally appropriate belief explains the importance of the teacher's role in facilitating children's emotional competence. On the other hand, unappropriateness is explained by teachers' beliefs regarding children's expressions of negative emotions (such as sadness and anger), which according to teachers, young children do not need to express these emotions. Furthermore, the results of the open-ended questionnaire showed several teacher limitations regarding conceptual understanding of children's emotional competence, as well as in using appropriate strategies for emotional socialization (especially in helping children manage negative emotions). The way teachers socialize emotions is based on their beliefs regarding children's emotional competence.

유아교사의 정서표현성이 유아의 사회정서적 유능감에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of teacher-child interaction and play teaching efficacy in the area of early childhood teachers' emotional expressiveness on young children’s socio-emotional competence. The subjects of the study were 270 early childhood teachers and infants in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do. Structural relationship analysis was performed on the collected data using SPSS and AMOS 25.0 programs. As a result of the study, first, there was a positive correlation between the emotional expression of early childhood teachers, the interaction between teachers and young children, play teaching efficacy and the socio- emotional competence of young children. Second, the effects of play teaching efficacy was completely mediated by the influence of teachers' emotional expressiveness on children's socio- emotional competence. Third, teachers' emotional expressiveness influenced children's socio- emotional competence by sequentially double-mediating teacher-child interactions and play teaching efficacy. Through this study, basic data on variables related to children's social and emotional competence were provided.

Can a web application foster emotional competence in children and adolescents? The case of PandHEMOT®.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many traumatic consequences for the physical and psychological functioning of children and adolescents. Internet-based interventions can reach a large audience and be a potentially powerful resource for promoting well-being among young people. We tested the efficacy of the web application PandHEMOT®, developed ad hoc for increasing knowledge about pandemics, emotions, and emotion regulation. We involved a sample of 147 Italian third and seventh graders. The sample was assigned to an experimental (participating in the training) and a waitlist condition (who participated following a waitlist design). All the participants completed pretest and posttest measures. The intervention was structured into three units. The training took place between November and December 2021. Generalized linear mixed models and linear mixed models revealed that knowledge about pandemics, emotions, emotion regulation, and metacognitive awareness increased for the experimental condition. Moreover, adolescents performed better than children. The findings supported the efficacy of an Internet-based training for increasing children and adolescents' resilience, according to the standards of evidence-based research.

Art Learning for Children as a Social Emotional Learning Program

Attitude is an aspect that needs attention because it is a polemic problem in children today. This article aims to initiate the concept of art learning as a social emotional learning program. It can be said that art education has a further meaning than just a process of transferring knowledge and skills, but art education can be used as an effort to develop Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Intellectual (IQ) this is because art education itself is based on mental (moral), analysis, and synthesis, besides that art is seen as having the essential value to touch one's emotional plain. Literature review is the method in this research with data collection techniques from keyword searches: (1) social emotional learning and (2) art learning for children through Google Scholar. The results of the study found that social emotional learning through art education is seen as something interesting and crucial to be studied and further formulated into a formulation, where the concepts of Art Learning and Social Emotional Learning are used as a foothold and then analyzed, and led to the finding that art learning can be used as a social emotional learning program to be able to improve the five domains of children's social emotional competence. This research has implications for children's social emotional development including awareness and appreciation skills as a form of affection that can be applied later in social life.

DEVELOPING SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS IN EARLY CHILDREN: BEST APPROACHES IN EARLY EDUCATION

This study aims to better understand the optimal way to teach young children social and emotional abilities. A qualitative approach involving a literature review was employed for this investigation. This study used a literature review methodology to investigate the best practices in early childhood education as they pertain to the development of children's social and emotional competencies. The information was gathered through reading and analyzing a wide range of resources on the subject at hand, including books, scholarly journals, articles, and other papers; from these, the researcher identified overarching themes and drew definitive conclusions. This study's findings support the idea that a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to early childhood education is optimal for fostering the growth of children's social and emotional competencies. Supportive settings, playtime, role models of appropriate conduct, clear instruction, training for teachers and caregivers, and close cooperation between parents and professionals are all necessary for the development of these abilities. Long-term benefits of fostering children's social and emotional development include positive connections, psychological wellness, and educational success.

Effectiveness of a preschool emotional education programme administered over 3 grades: a cluster randomised controlled trial

IntroductionEmotional education programmes are universal preventive strategies for health promotion, especially mental health. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of ‘1,2,3, emoció!’: a preschool-based programme designed to improve emotional competence and targeted to 3–5-year-old children in Barcelona during three academic years. Study designCluster randomised trial, using schools as clusters. MethodsThe study's population included preschoolers 3-5 years old from Barcelona. Teachers offered the programme during one or three academic years in the intervention groups. We evaluated the emotional competence of each child at the beginning and the end of the academic year with the Emotional Competence Assessment Questionnaire (30–180 scale). We studied the implementation process and analysed the outcomes with nested linear regression models. Considering sociodemographic variables and implementation outcomes, we obtained the individual differences in emotional competence at the end of the school year—segregated by sex—for intervention and comparison groups. Results1586 children participated in the study. The emotional competence level increased significantly after one year (4.1 in boys; 5.6 in girls; P < 0.05) and after three years of intervention (5.5 in boys; 8.0 in girls; P < 0.01), compared to comparison group. The level of emotional competence was the highest for the 3-year intervention group: we obtained an average ECAQ score of 131.1 (95% CI 126.9–135.2) for boys and 141 (95% CI 137.2–144.9) for girls. We observed that an accurate implementation improved its results. ConclusionsThe programme ‘1,2,3, emoció!’ effectively increases preschool children's emotional competence, especially when the programme is rigorously implemented for three years.

Impact of Parents as Teachers on parenting-related protective factors: A pre- and post- evaluation

BackgroundAs federal policy has prioritized family preservation and maintenance, there is a need to identify programs and interventions that can enhance protective factors among families vulnerable to child maltreatment. This study examines changes in parenting protective factors among parent participants in Parents as Teachers. MethodsData for this study came from 803 parents who participated in Parents as Teachers as part of Prevention and Early Intervention services in a large Southern state. Parents who completed both pre- and post-surveys of the Parenting Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF) scale (N = 86) were included for data analysis. We conducted a series of paired t-tests to examine changes in PAPF scores over time. We then conducted a series of linear regressions to explore factors associated with changes in PAPF scores among program participants. ResultsWe observed significant increases in all two domains of protective factors, including social connections and overall PAPF score. Parental mental health, and exposure to adverse childhood experiences were associated with resilience and social and emotional competence of children among program participants. DiscussionOur findings suggest that participants in Parents as Teachers experienced positive changes in protective factors over the course of the program. Certain parental risk factors were linked to changes in parental resilience and social and emotional competence of children over time. The direction of this relationship varied, highlighting an area for future research to explore how strengths-based programs may be targeted for specific groups.

Children's social emotional competence in Pakistan and Sweden: Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Social Competence Scale (teacher edition).

Social emotional competence is fundamental to the positive development of children and youth. Accurately understanding and assessing children's social emotional competencies, using psychometrically sound instruments, are essential to global efforts to support children's social emotional learning, academic achievements, and health. This study examined the psychometric properties of a teacher-reported measure of young children's social emotional competence, the Social Competence Scale - Teacher edition (SCS-T), in two samples of children growing up with varied economic resources/conditions, cultural norms, and educational experiences, namely Pakistan (N = 396) and Sweden (N = 309). Participants were aged 4-6 years old. The study design was cross-sectional. Using structural equation modelling, bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis models implying shared variance, among all items and domain-specific shared variance, among the prosocial items, emotion regulation items, and academic skills items resulted in good fitting models in each respective sample. Invariance testing across samples revealed a subset of items from each factor structure with partial scalar invariance, whereby five items had equal thresholds and could be comparable across the two samples. Thus, results provided partial support for hypotheses 1, 2, and 3, in that the posited three factor model (H1) was not clearly supported and a bi-factor model evidenced the best fit, among tested models, for both samples. Further, partial scalar invariance (H3) was found for five items out of 25 items, concerning social competence and academic skills. In regards, to the posited research question, the results of Z-tests showed significant (p < 0.001) latent mean differences between the samples. Compared to the Swedish sample, the Pakistani sample was 1.80 units lower on social competence (z = -6.41, p < 0.001) and 1.86 units lower on academic skills (z = -7.87, p < 0.001). The implications of these findings in light of efforts to promote positive child development in diverse parts of the world are considered.

Emotional Development and Regulation in Children: A Review of Recent Advances

The article aims to explore the complexities of emotional development and regulation in children, emphasizing the impact of various factors including familial, educational, cultural, and technological influences. It seeks to understand how these elements contribute to children's emotional competence and socioemotional adjustment. This review synthesizes recent research findings from interdisciplinary studies, employing a comprehensive analysis of literature that spans psychology, education, and digital technology. It includes observational studies, experimental research, and qualitative analyses to provide a broad overview of the field. Key findings highlight the significance of emotional competence in socioemotional development, the role of caregivers and educators in shaping emotional regulation, the influence of cultural and environmental factors, and the potential of digital technologies in supporting emotional learning. It also discusses challenges in emotional regulation faced by children with developmental conditions. The article concludes that emotional development and regulation are influenced by a dynamic interplay of individual, social, and technological factors. It calls for a multidisciplinary approach to research and practice, emphasizing the need for innovative, inclusive interventions that support the emotional well-being of children across different contexts.

Effects of Asian cultural values on parenting style and young children's perceived competence: A cross-sectional study.

Authoritarian parenting has long been associated with Western individualism and improved child development. This study examined the relationship between cultural values, parenting styles, and children's perceived competence in Hong Kong. A total of 48 parents from local Chinese families, 49 parents from South Asian families, and 105 children (24 local Chinese and 81 South Asian) aged 5-6 years participated in the study. Self-report questionnaires on adherence to Asian cultural values and parenting style were administered to parents. The Pictorial Survey on Children's Perceived Competence was administered to children by trained research assistants. The results contradicted two long-standing assumptions on Asian cultural values and parenting styles. First, higher adherence to Asian cultural values increased the likelihood of having an authoritarian parenting style. Second, authoritative parenting practices were more likely be associated with improved social-emotional competence in children. Multiple regression analyzes revealed a strong positive correlation between Asian cultural values and authoritative parenting style (R 2 = 0.597). There was no association between parenting style and the development of competence in young children. However, a positive correlation was found between Asian cultural values and young children's perceived competence. This study showed that components of collectivism and humility in Asian cultural values could have functional values that are essential for developing competencies in South Asian young children but not in local Chinese young children. This study discussed the implications of cultural values sin the terms of contextualization, functional relevance of cultural values for ethnic minorities, and ideal parenting practices.

The Emotional Competence Assessment Questionnaire (ECAQ) for Children Aged from 3 to 5 Years: Validity and Reliability Evidence

In order to assess emotional competence in children, it is necessary to have psychometrically sound measures. To the best of our knowledge, there is no available tool to assess emotional competence in children from 3 to 5 years old that assesses the five emotional competences of the Bisquerra model and can be easily and quickly answered in the school environment. The objective of this study is to develop a measure, the Emotional Competence Assessment Questionnaire (ECAQ), and to provide evidence of its psychometric quality. Qualitative evidence was obtained from a systematic review, from two expert committees and from five discussion groups. On the other hand, quantitative validity and reliability evidence was obtained from a sample of 1088 students and other smaller subsamples. The results suggest that the ECAQ is a short and easy-to-use tool, easily understood by administrators. The quantitative results confirm a general factor of emotional competence adjusted for three specific factors. This factor has excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The ECAQ has therefore been shown to be a promising tool for assessing emotional competence in children between 3 and 5 years of age.

Emotional competence, attachment, and parenting styles in children and parents

The goal of this study was to examine whether a subject’s emotional competence correlates to attachment styles and parenting styles in children and their parents. The study was conducted with fifty children (9–11 years old) and their parents, both of whose emotional competence (EKF) and parenting style (PAQ) were measured. The attachment styles of parents and children were measured with the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) and the Bochumer Bindungstest (BoBiTe), respectively. The findings provide initial support to the assumption that attachment is related to emotional competence in parents. This relationship, however, was not significantly correlated in children. In addition, authoritative parenting and permissive parenting were significantly associated with emotional competence in parents. Emotional competence in children showed to be associated with an authoritative parenting style.

Perspective Taking Ability in Psychologically Maltreated Children: A Protective Factor in Peer Social Adjustment.

Perspective taking is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct characterized by three components: cognitive, affective, and visual. The experience of psychological maltreatment impairs the child’s emotional competence; in particular, maltreated children present difficulty in understanding and regulating emotions and in social understanding ability. In addition, the literature contains several contributions that highlight maladaptive behaviors of children with a history of maltreatment in peer interactions in the school context. Perspective taking ability has rarely been studied in maltreated children and the existing studies have produced different and often conflicting results that require further insights. On the grounds of these premises, the main objective of the present research is to investigate perspective taking ability in preschool children from maltreating and non-maltreating family contexts and its role in social adjustment, in terms of prosocial and aggressive behavior toward peers inside the kindergarten. A second objective is to verify the effectiveness of a training aimed to promote perspective taking ability in victims of psychological maltreatment. This research, organized into two separate studies, involved 249 preschool children: 206 children from non-maltreating family contexts and 43 brought up in psychologically maltreating families. Perspective taking was measured via the administration of several tests, and prosocial behavior and aggressiveness were observed via non-participant observations in the school context. The training involved maltreated children in small-group meetings based on familiar and appealing activities within the mother–child community. The overall results show that children’s perspective taking ability, in particular the affective perspective taking, contributed to social adjustment. In fact, greater affective perspective taking ability was correlated to a higher frequency of prosocial behaviors toward peers and minor frequency of aggressiveness. Finally, the results of the training (pre/post-test comparison) showed an increase in perspective taking, especially in the affective dimension, and a consequent increase in prosocial behaviors and a decrease in aggressive ones. Therefore, the affective perspective taking ability seems to represent a very significant protective factor, which should be focused and strengthened in order to improve the social adaptation of preschool children who are victims of psychological abuse.

СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭМОЦИОНАЛЬНАЯ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТЬ СТАРШИХ ПОДРОСТКОВ: СРАВНЕНИЕ САМООТЧЕТА И ВНЕШНЕЙ ОЦЕНКИ

Effective assessment of the social and emotional competence of children and adolescents is important for studying individual and age differences, as well as for preventing behavioral and emotional difficulties and developing assistance measures. Different types of assessment (self-report and external assessment by teachers, parents, peers) provide important information about social and emotional development, but they do not always show concordance since each informant has his own experience of observing certain characteristics of children. In this study, we examine the socio-emotional competence of older adolescents through emotional intelligence, measured by the self-report method, and external assessment of various forms of social behavior by school teachers. Particular attention is given to the question of correspondence between the assessments of students and teachers. The study involved 42 teenagers aged 14-16 and their class teachers. The adolescents filled out the EmIn questionnaire aimed at assessing the respondents’ perceptions of their emotional intelligence. The teachers filled out a questionnaire that included an assessment of five different aspects of social and emotional development: understanding of emotions and the ability to predict behavior based on that, understanding of social situations, empathy, prosocial behavior, communication skills, etc. The analysis of the data showed low concordance between the assessments given by adolescents and teachers. Correlation was found only in the assessment of the aspect of understanding emotions. At the same time, the analysis of assessments given in two different classes (and, accordingly, by different teachers) revealed significant differences. This highlights the importance of quality of external evaluation and selection of experts to conduct research. The results raise new research questions and indicate the need for further search for external criteria of socio-emotional competence in adolescence and for selection of adequate assessment methods.

The Incredible Years Parenting and Child Treatment Programs: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a Child Welfare Setting in Spain.

Incredible Years (IY) is a well-established multicomponent group-based program designed to promote young children's emotional and social competence, to prevent and treat child behavioral and emotional problems, and to improve parenting practices and the parent-child relationship. This study presents the first randomized controlled trial carried out in Spain to test the effectiveness of the Incredible Years Basic Parenting and Small Group Dinosaur Programs in a sample of families involved in child welfare due to substantiated or risk for child maltreatment. One hundred and eleven families with 4- to 8-year-old children were randomly allocated to IY or to a control group who received standard services. Baseline, post-intervention, and 12-month follow-up assessments were compared. Results showed that compared to the control group, the IY intervention made a significant positive difference in parents' observed and reported use of praise, and a significant reduction in reported use of inconsistent discipline, parenting stress, depressive symptomatology, and perception of child behavior problems. A full serial mediation effect was found between participation in IY, changes in parenting practices, subsequent parenting stress reduction, and both final child abuse potential reduction and perception of child behavior problems. No moderating influence on IY effects was found. Findings provide evidence that transporting the IY Basic Parenting and the Small Group Dinosaur Programs with fidelity is feasible in Child Welfare Services in Spain.

Social context factors and refugee children's emotional health.

Refugee children face numerous challenges associated with pre-migration trauma and post-migration adaptation. Much research pertaining to refugee children's well-being focuses on psychiatric symptoms. Relatively few studies have examined how social context factors-such as perceptions of peer belonging, and support from adults at home and at school-contribute to the emotional health of refugee children. Informed by social-ecological theories emphasizing dynamic interactions between the contexts in which children develop, we examined associations between social context factors and emotional health in refugee children. Data were drawn from a population-based data linkage in British Columbia, Canada. The analytic sample included 682 grade 4 students (Mage 9.2years; 46.3% female) with a refugee background who responded to the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) during the 2010/2011-2016/2017 school years. The MDI is a self-report survey of children's social and emotional competencies and social context factors completed at school. Regression analyses were used to examine associations of social context factors (school climate, supportive adults at school and at home, and peer belonging) with indicators of emotional health (life satisfaction, self-concept, optimism, and sadness). Refugee generation status (first/second) was considered through stratification and testing of interactions with social context factors. Perceived supportive school climate, support from adults in school and at home, and peer belonging were each independently associated with better emotional health. Results were similar for first- and second-generation children. Taken together, results suggest a unique role of the school context to refugee children's emotional health. School-based programming that promotes positive school climate can be considered as an important approach to support newcomer refugee children and their families.