Peer and group relationships in preschoolers: the role of social and linguistic skills

Being able to positively interact and build relationships with playmates in preschool years is crucial to achieve positive adjustment. An update review and two studies on such topics were provided. Study 1 is observational; it investigates the type of social experience in groups (N = 443) of children (N = 120) at preschool age in child-led vs. teacher-led contexts. The results revealed that in child-led contexts children were more likely to be alone, in dyads, and in small peer groups; groups were mostly characterized by same-gender playmates who engaged in joint interactions, with few social interactions with teachers. In teacher-led contexts, on the other hand, children were more likely to be involved in small, medium and large groups; groups were mostly characterized by other-gender playmates, involved in parallel interactions, with teachers playing a more active role. The purpose of Study 2 was to describe the development of socio-emotional competence, temperamental traits and linguistic skill. It examined the role of children’s reciprocated nominations (=RNs) with peers, assessed via sociometric interview, in relation to socio-emotional competence, temperamental traits and linguistic skill. Finally, the similarity-homophily tendency was investigated. Socio-emotional competence and temperamental traits were assessed via teacher ratings, linguistic skill via test administration. Eighty-four preschool children (M age = 62.53) were recruited within 4 preschool settings. Those children were quite representative of preschool population. The results revealed that children with higher RNs showed higher social competence (tendency), social orientation, positive emotionality, motor activity and linguistic skill. They exhibited lower anxiety-withdrawal. The results also showed that children prefer playmates with similar features: social competence, anger-aggression (tendency), social orientation, positive emotionality, inhibition to innovation, attention, motor activity (tendency) and linguistic skill. Implications for future research were suggested

Developmentally appropriate practice in the 21st century

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is a set of early childhood curricular recommendations published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). DAP was introduced in the United States in the late 1980s through Bredekamp’s (1987) seminal work, “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8.” Since the initial publication, DAP has been widely accepted as the standard for early childhood educational practice in the United States and in Westernized countries around the world. Whereas proponents of DAP assert its positive influence on children, those more critical of DAP question whether it supports experiences for all young children equally. The aim of this chapter is to (a) describe a developmentally appropriate practice and its theoretical underpinnings, (b) to describe the conceptualization of the child and the role of the adult in DAP, and (c) to synthesize critiques of and recommended changes to DAP

Older adults' perspectives on key domains of childhood social and economic experiences and opportunities: a first step to creating a multidimensional measure

ObjectivesAlthough research has found that childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with physical and mental health in mid- and later life, most of these studies used conventional, single dimension SES measures for the childhood period such as household income or educational attainment of parents. Life course and health disparities research would benefit from identification and measurement of a variety of childhood social and economic experiences and opportunities that might affect health in later life.DesignThis study utilized qualitative research methods to identify key dimensions of childhood experiences related to SES. We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 adults age 55 to 80 years from diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds. Topics included home, neighborhood, school, and work experiences during early childhood and adolescence. Interviews were audio-taped and transcripts were coded to identify thematic domains.ResultsWe identified eight thematic domains, many of which had clear subdomains: home and family circumstances, neighborhood, work and money, potential for advancement through schooling, school quality and content, discrimination, influence and support of adults, and leisure activities. These domains highlight individual characteristics and experiences and also economic and educational opportunities.ConclusionThese domains of childhood social and economic circumstances add breadth and depth to conventional conceptualization of childhood SES. When the domains are translated into a measurement tool, it will allow for the possibility of classifying people along multiple dimensions, such as from a low economic circumstance with high levels of adult support

Two cultures, one room: investigating language and gender in Kuwait

PhDKuwait is a gender-segregated country. Its conservative cultural ideology is evident in all areas of social life, including the way people communicate. Men and women have to make conscious language choices during everyday interaction. Certain aspects of Kuwaiti conversational registers are exclusive to either men or women, which reflects not only men’s and women’s separate socialization as children but also separate lifestyles as adults. Kuwait’s gendered context is therefore bound to be unique and of particular sociolinguistic interest, especially since mainstream language and gender literature has more often focused on English-speaking cultures. Thus, there is little knowledge of Arab gender-segregated cultures and this could possibly be due to complications that the researcher inevitably encounters when examining a sensitive issue such as gender within these constraints. The present research study investigates mixed interaction between Kuwaiti men and women in online chat rooms. In this particular online context, chat room users employ interactional strategies to negotiate the norms of heterosexual interaction which are often non-existent in offline Kuwaiti society. A combined framework of sociolinguistic, ethnographic methods is adopted to examine chat room interactional choices that enable men and women to construct gendered chat room identities as well as create a virtual online community of practice without undermining offline gender norms