Emotional Competence and Emotion Socialization in Preschoolers: The Viewpoint of Preschool Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this research is to thoroughly investigate preschool teachers' opinions about emotional competence and emotion socialization. The study group was comprised of 20 preschool teachers working in preschools in the city-center of Aksaray. A semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher was used as the data collection tool. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis methods. As a result, teachers explained emotion socialization as a teacher helping children feel comfortable expressing themselves within the framework of sharing and cooperation of the children's own emotional competencies. Teachers often expressed supporting and developing the classroom environment for emotional competence as a secure environment that is warm and comfortable for self-expression. As for the emotion socialization methods used in the classroom environment, teachers mainly expressed supporting children, encouraging children, and talking. Teachers explained that they mostly express their emotions verbally. Within the scope of the teachers' emotional competence, they mostly said being a model and being an empathetic teacher. Teachers expressed that as far as being a role model in emotional competence and emotion socialization, their role is more important than parents'. They stated that they feel adequate with their work skills but they mostly need the help of parents and other professionals, as well as educational support.

Using Simulation to Develop Divergent and Reflective Thinking in Teacher Education

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Socialization of Knowing How to Feel through the Epew in Mapuche Culture: Guidelines for Early Childhood Education

“…We can then observe that, through these daily interactions, the social interactions of a culture mediate the emotions that are part of the expected emotional ideal [8,9]. These cultural emotional ideals are constructed through direct interactions with the family [10,11] and social actors, such as preschool educators [12] and teachers, who socialize emotion in their interactions with children [13,14].…”

The role of physical activity promoting thinking skills and emotional behavior of preschool children

“…Based on a literature review, a child’s social competence was defined as the ability to establish and maintain social contacts in the process of interaction based on a positive attitude towards oneself, and emotional competence is the ability to experience emotions, understand one’s own emotions and the emotions of other people, and regulate their expression (Franco et al, 2017 ). Research on early childhood points to the concept of emotional competence, skills, and behaviors in children associated with emotions such as expression, awareness, labeling, and understanding of emotions based on emotional facial expressions and contextual cues (Kılıç, 2015 ). The concept of social-emotional competence (SEC) seems the most integrative as a set of additional abilities: Self-awareness, which describes the knowledge of one’s strengths and weaknesses and distinction of emotions.…”