Supporting children’s social and emotional well-being in the early years: an exploration of practitioners’ perceptions

Abstract

Children's social and emotional well-being can be supported through their experiences of early years education to promote positive lifelong outcomes. This study explored the views of 10 early years practitioners in relation to supporting children's social and emotional well-being. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Themes were explored in relation to practitioners' understanding of 'social and emotional well-being' as well as their views on training opportunities in this area. The findings identified how early years practitioners conceptualise social and emotional well-being and highlighted the complexities and intricacies of the parent-practitioner relationship in the early years. The emotional wellbeing of staff was also pertinent to early years practitioners' views. It is proposed that future research and practice focuses on opportunities for reflective discussions for early years staff and on the development of relationships.

The Moderating Effect of Age on Preschool Teachers Trait Emotional Intelligence in Greece and Implications for Preschool Human Resources Management

“…However, EI apparently plays a protective and preventive role in relation to the development of working conditions that result in burnout. For instance, it facilitates teachers' interactions with their pupils and colleagues, leading to desirable outcomes for not only professional satisfaction but also their pupils' emotional development and lifelong skills (Seaman and Giles, 2019). In conclusion, as the result of this study provides an estimate of preschool teachers' TEI in Greece, it can be…”

Preschool Teachers’ Emotional Acting and School-Based Interactions

“…Preschool teachers navigate a range of emotions in their jobs (Davis & Dunn, 2018;Seaman & Giles, 2021) given the interpersonal elements of their craft. This study begins to understand the emotional practice of teaching in early childhood education and how that emotional practice could support and inform preschool teachers in managing their emotions especially while fostering key school-based interactions.…”

“…At all times, but especially in an ongoing pandemic, navigating the emotional complexities of their job is a challenge (Lambert et al, 2018) for which teachers receive little preparation or training (Schonert-Reichl, 2017). ECE Due to the highly interpersonal nature of their work, preschool teachers experience a wide range of emotions in their jobs (Davis & Dunn, 2018;Fu et al, 2010;Seaman & Giles, 2021). Exchanges with children, colleagues, administrators, and children's families all raise a variety of emotions (Humphries et al, 2018;Sanders-Smith et al, 2020).…”

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