AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

Children's Development of Social Competences in Early Childhood Education

by Mikkel Bjelke Kristiansen




Institution: Roskilde University
Department:
Year: 2015
Keywords: social competence; empathy; sympathy; altruism; theory of mind; prosocial behaviour; social skills; linear regression; ANOVA; T-test
Record ID: 1119289
Full text PDF: http://rudar.ruc.dk/handle/1800/17581


Abstract

In this Master's thesis early environmental influences on children’s development of social competences were explored and an early childhood education programme aimed at fostering this development was evaluated. More specifically, the goals were 1) to examine when and how these competences emerge, and whether it is possible to promote these competences in early childhood education, and 2) to evaluate the effect of the Tara Redwood School programme on children’s manifestations of social competences. 35 children from Tara Redwood School and another private Montessori school, which was selected for control condition, were observed over 2 months for at total of 33 hours, and 29 children were rated by their teachers and 26 children by their parents on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and Social Competence Inventory. The data was analysed using a multiple linear regression model and compared to population data using the one-sample t-test.