4 results on '"Somerwil, Tammy"'
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2. Preschool Educators' Perceptions of Their Emotional Socialiser Role of Preschool Children's Emotional Competence
- Author
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Somerwil, Tammy A
- Subjects
children ,Emotional competence ,early childhood educator ,Preschool ,socialiser - Abstract
Preschool-aged children spend a large proportion of their waking hours in early childhood education and care services. The preschool years span a peak phase for children’s development of many key milestones of emotional competence. Between the ages of 2 and 5, these elements of emotional competence are playing a critical role in the successful development of social competence, and more specifically the beginnings of peer relationships. Emotional competence is critical therefore for children’s well-being, navigation of social contexts, school readiness, and long-term academic success. It is understood that socialisation of a child’s complex emotional system occurs in each interaction a child shares with others: their parents, siblings, teachers, caregivers, and peers. During the preschool years, early childhood educators share a large proportion of the critical emotional socialiser role. However, while parents’ strategies for socialisation of their children’s emotional competence have been well researched, very little research has focussed on the pedagogy used by educators to promote young children’s emotional competence. This research aims to understand the role of the early childhood educator as a socialiser of preschool children’s emotional competence through the perspective of multiple educators. The research is directed through five research questions that investigate the perceptions of educators in their role as emotional socialisers of young children’s emotional competence. This research was developed through a pragmatic philosophical worldview. Additionally, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) was used as the theoretical guide underpinning this exploration due to its suitability to the subject of emotional competence co-constructed within social contexts. Using both these lenses, an explanatory sequential mixed methods study was deemed the most suitable research method. Data were collected in two phases: first, through online surveys and then focus groups. Research participants were educators of preschool children from Queensland, Australia. In this research teachers and teaching assistants are described as educators. Preschool programs in day care services and kindergarten were included. The quantitative phase of this research analysed data from 76 participants who completed an online survey which included questions about their demographics, readiness to promote children’s emotional competence, and teaching and assessment strategies for emotional competence. The survey also included an open-response section to facilitate private responses and an invitation to engage in the focus groups that formed the second phase of this research. Only frequency and descriptive analysis were undertaken with all quantitative data. As the focus of this study was an exploration of the phenomenon, an inductive process was used to build a descriptive picture of it. In survey responses assessing perceived readiness to promote emotional competence (scale adapted from Bouillet et al. [2014]) there was a strong level of response consistency apparent across all participants. These demonstrated the unified supportive attitudes for promoting young children’s emotional competence, such as the recognised responsibility for sharing the socialiser role and perceived competence to enact activities to promote emotional competence. There was, however, some divergence in participants’ perception of the preparation through their undergraduate education for the role of promoting emotional competence. Additionally, in survey responses to a teaching and assessment strategies scale developed by this author, participants revealed a range of preferences in teaching and assessment strategies appropriate for developing emotional socialisation in the classroom. The qualitative data were interpreted through thematic analysis using a six-step process adapted from Braun and Clarke (2012). Interpretive analysis was also supported through a secondary latent or interpretive level of analysis using elements from Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model. Major themes from data across five focus groups included emotional competence curriculum aims and goals, Prep environment, thoughts about the emotional socialiser role, shifts in children’s levels of emotional competence, shifts in observed parenting behaviours, sharing the emotional socialiser role with parents, supporting parents emotionally, pedagogical strategies for promoting emotional competence, educators’ emotional self-regulation strategies, supportive teams, assessment, and self-efficacy in the emotional socialiser role. This thesis provides insight into both the perceptions of a group of experienced educators about their emotional socialiser role and also the construction of these perceptions as structured by elements of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model. Most significantly, this study shows how variations in perceptual constructions of concepts occur among different service teams influenced by their siloed environments and associated socioeconomic contexts. Findings from the research will potentially inform educator training programs for promoting the socialisation of preschool children’s emotional competence.
- Published
- 2021
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3. Preschool Educators’ Readiness to Promote Children’s Emotional Competence
- Author
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Somerwil, Tammy, primary, Klieve, Helen, additional, and Beryl, Exley, additional
- Published
- 2020
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4. Preschool Educators' Readiness to Promote Children's Emotional Competence.
- Author
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Somerwil, Tammy, Klieve, Helen, and Exley, Beryl
- Subjects
READINESS for school ,EMOTIONAL competence ,EDUCATORS ,UNDERGRADUATE education ,CAREER development ,INSTITUTIONAL environment ,EARLY childhood educators - Abstract
The development of children's emotional competence (EC) throughout the preschool period is critical for supporting their future social competence, transition to school and long-term academic success. This paper reports on survey responses of 78 Australian preschool educators to the scale Preschool Educators' Readiness for Promoting Children's Emotional Competence modified from Bouillet, Ivanec & Miljević-Riđički (2014) and a short open response section. This scale sought the views of educators regarding aspects such as their competence, willingness to promote children's emotional competence and the influence of institutional environment and conditions, with response variations explored across different locations, centre type and also respondent age. While responses indicated strong agreement regarding ability to successfully conduct activities to promote emotional competence and also respondent's prioritization of activities for emotional competence before cognitive skills, there also were differences observed across respondents. For example, almost half responded that they were not adequately prepared by their undergraduate education to promote emotional competence. A small number of open responses were supplied (n=24). Given the small sample, these were used as additional evidence to support and explain the findings from the quantitative analysis. Overall findings highlight the need for strategies to support these educators. These include additional information and practical strategies within undergraduate training, the development of a shared language that defines these issues, ongoing professional development in their workplaces and a greater availability of practical strategies and programs to support them in delivering this important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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