A study of social–emotional adjustment levels of preschool children in relation to peer relationships

The aim of this research is to study social–emotional adaptation levels of 5- to 6-year old preschool children in relation to peer relationships. One hundred and forty-four children aged between 5 and 6 joined in this relational survey study. According to the results of the research analysing the relationship between the social–emotional adjustments of 5- to 6-year old children continuing preschool education and the peer relationship variables; the social–emotional adjustment level can meaningfully predict the prosocial behaviour of children towards their peers, aggression levels and exclusion by peers, fear–anxiety towards peers, hyperactivity–distractibility and peer victimisation.     

‘Settling in’

Abstract

This study examined the ‘settling in’ behaviour of newly enrolled children who entered an established preschool classroom. Settling in can cause emotional distress and behavioural problems in children. Thus, it is important to document the ways in which young children successfully adjust. The behaviours of the ‘new’ children were tracked across the school year and compared with ‘old children’, or those previously enrolled. Results indicated that new children did not differ from old children in terms of unengaged behaviour. While all children's socially interactive behaviour and social fantasy increased across the school year, the new children engaged in lower levels of these behaviours. Further, the signals they used to initiate social interaction were less sophisticated than those used by established children. Results are discussed in terms of the role of familiarity in supporting children's exhibition of competence. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

儿童自我调节能力的性别差异

发展心理学中许多关于性别差异的研究发现,女孩在学校适应的很多方面都优于男孩.儿童自我调节能力的性别差异可能是女孩优势的重要原因之一.然而,目前关于儿童自我调节能力性别差异的总结尚不够充分.文章根据自我调节能力在不同年龄阶段儿童中的典型表现形式,对儿童自我调节能力性别差异的相关研究进行了系统的回顾.结果表明,西方研究中普遍发现女孩在婴儿期的模仿和顺从、童年早期的努力控制和良心发展等指标上均优于男孩,但国内研究尚未取得一致结论.最后,对儿童自我调节能力性别差异的成因进行了讨论,并对未来研究方向提出了建议.     

Associations between adolescent boys’ and girls’ psychological adjustment and behaviour in school

The present study examined associations between boys’ and girls’ self-reported psychological adjustment and a wide spectrum of peer-rated behaviours in the school context using a sample of 463 Estonian early adolescents (M_age = 12.90). Although girls had more internalised problems and boys more externalised problems, the associations between adolescents’ psychological adjustment and behaviour were not gender-specific. Among both boys and girls, hostility was positively associated not only with their peer-reported misbehaviour, but also with sociable behaviour and negatively with studiousness. Adolescents with negative self-esteem were perceived to exhibit high levels of self-centred competitive behaviour, misbehaviour and also sociable behaviour. Those with negative self-adequacy, on the contrary, were less likely to behave in a self-centred competitive and sociable manner. In general, the findings show that psychological maladjustment may appear not only in well-observed problematic behaviour but also in seemingly ordinary behaviour in school.     

学前教师教育的学校和专业亟需调节

学前教师教育的学校和专业设置在一定程度上决定了学前教师教育的发展规模、结构、质量和投资效率.现在的设置标准、程序、结果都不适应学前教师教育发展的需要,必须从调整体制、制定规划、明确标准等方面加强调节.     

Quality of teacher–child relationship and preschoolers’ pro-social behaviour in German kindergartens

Teacher–child relationships in early childhood are a crucial prerequisite for children's emotional, social and academic development. Therefore, it is important to be able to measure accurately the quality of interactions among them. The Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) is a widely accepted instrument in measuring the quality of teacher–child relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine the adapted STRS in the German early childhood education settings and to investigate it's associations with children's pro-social and problematic behaviour. Seventy-eight preschool teachers rated the quality of their relationships with 153 children aged 2–7 years and their pro-social and problematic behaviour. An explorative factor analysis revealed three consistent factors: closeness, conflict and dependency. The former inconsistent dependency scale showed good internal consistency. The item constellation was the same as of the adapted STRS. As expected preschool teachers rated girls closer compared to boys. Closeness was positive associated with pro-social behaviour and conflict and dependency was positive correlated with externalising behaviour. The results of this study support the reliability and validity of the adapted STRS in the German kindergarten context.     

学前教育专业学生性别比例失衡问题的实证分析——基于A大学的调查

近年来,随着二胎政策的全面展开,学前教育质量受到重视,其发展前景也备受关注.然而,幼儿园教师呈现性别单一化,男幼师严重缺位对学前教育师资队伍建设产生不利影响.男幼师之所以成为稀缺资源,得追溯到各类高校学前教育专业学生的性别比例构成上,研究在参考大量文献资料的基础上自编问卷进行了实证研究,调查A大学学前教育专业学生的性别...     

Young children’s classification,stereotyping and play behaviour for gender neutral and ambiguous toys

Developmental intergroup theory would predict that children develop fewer or weaker stereotypes about toys that have less distinguishable gender attributes than those that are clearly associated with a gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of neutral and ambiguous toys in 31 three‐ to five‐year‐old children’s play behaviour and understanding about gender. Overall, children did not categorise more perceptually salient (ambiguous) toys than less distinguishable (neutral) toys to their own gender. Colour was the most frequently used reason for the toys’ gender assignment. The findings also showed that with age, girls’ play complexity increased linearly, whereas boys’ scores did not. A play substitution scale measuring play creativity or maturity showed no gender differences. The discussion highlights the role of perceptual salience in sex‐dimorphic toy preferences and behaviour and their application to educational issues.     

An Interview Study of Gender Difference in Preschool Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Children’s Play

The aim of this study was to investigate, identify and describe different ways that female and male preschool teachers conceive, understand and experience play. The research questions addressed are: What perspectives do female and male preschool teachers have on play? Are there differences in play experiences related to gender? The interview study is inspired by phenomenographical research. The sample consisted of ten female and ten male preschool teachers’. The results show differences between female and male preschool teachers’ play willingness. This study found that male preschool teachers contribute with more playfulness, and this is something that both female and male preschool teachers noticed. Female preschool teachers tend to value calm play and emphasize the importance of social development while male preschool teachers accentuate the significance of physical development. All preschool teachers in the study emphasized that it is important to create inspiring environments for play and outdoor play.     

Perceived severity of school bullying in elementary schools based on participants’ roles

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived severity of school bullying among participants with different roles (victims, bullies, bullies/victims and non-involved individuals) and to determine whether interactions between type of bullying and participant roles exist. Two Olweus-like global items and a revised School Bullying Severity Scale for elementary students were used in this study. A total of 1816 valid surveys completed by students in grades 5 and 6 (mean age = 11.5, SD = .84) were collected. Data were analysed using a mixed-model two-way ANOVA. The results revealed a significant main effect of type of bullying. Physical and verbal bullying were perceived as more severe than relational and cyberbullying. A significant two-way interaction between bullying category and participant role was also identified. Bullies did not perceive the four types of victimisation behaviours differently, whereas victims and bullies/victims both rated physical victimisation as most severe and cyber-victimisation as least severe. However, effect sizes were small. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention are discussed.     

从学前教育的性质看学前教育事业的发展

学前教育在学校教育体系中,是基础教育的重要组成部分;从对社会的影响看,学前教育是社会福利事业和公益事业;从公共管理的角度看,学前教育是公共产品。而学前教育发展中存在着政府缺位和错位,区域、城乡和公办与民办发展不平衡,以及政策缺失等问题,因此我国要把学前教育凸显为独立的以及学校教育制度,在财政预算当中单独列支学前教育经费,建立独立的幼儿教师编制、职称体系和建立专业的学前教育领导体制,并将学前教育包含到学校建设工程等项目中去。     

试论大学生情感危机的成因、表现及对策研究

处于当代社会背景下的大学生出现了不同类型不同程度的情感危机,本文通过对大学生情感危机的成因、表现的研究。试图为大学生处理情感问题提供参考意见。     

探析高职学生在高中阶段的考试心理问题

为全面了解高职学生心理状况、提升其学习能力,试从其高中时期考试心理困惑及产生原因着手进行分析,以找出合适的解决方法。高中毕业生因考试压力带来心理困惑,既影响成绩发挥,也影响其身心健康。社会、家长要转变人才评价观念,注重培养学生心理素质;学生要形成正确的考试认知、树立自信心,努力学习;避免把过去的心理困惑带到新的学习阶段,影响身心健康发展。     

值得注意的德国学前教育

本文简要介绍了德国学前教育的概况,包括其幼儿园、学前班、学校幼儿园的属性、数量及其教育经费的来源等,指出了德国学前教育中值得我们注意和学习的地方。