How Is Social and Emotional Development Supported in Early Learning Settings?
Early learning settings are rich with opportunities to build and practice social and emotional skills; however, thequality of these settingsaffects the degree to which a child’s social and emotional development is supported. In high-quality settings, children benefit from “frequent, warm and stimulating” interactions with caregivers who are attentive and able to individualize instruction based on children’s needs and strengths. Early educators inhigh-quality settingsare trained in early childhood education and tend to be less controlling and restrictive in their approach to classroom management.
Licensure and accreditation, well-trained caregivers, low staff-child ratios and parent involvement are generally considered to be fundamental to high-quality care and education. Such elements not only promote strong, secure relationships and positive interactions between caregiver and child, but alsoimprove attentionto children’s interest, problem-solving, language development, social skills and physical development.
High-quality early learning opportunities can also reduce the risk of children experiencing poor mental health.Research showsit can mitigate the effects of poverty, maternal depression and other risk factors. According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, high-quality child care helps build resilience among at-risk children, partly due to the relationships they form with caregivers. When children perceive at least one supportive adult in their life, they are less likely to experience toxic stress and suffer the detrimental effects of adverse experiences.
Well-trained early care and education professionals are critical to supporting social and emotional competence in young children. First and foremost, they build nurturing and responsive relationships with the children in their care and model respectful and appropriate behavior. They weave social and emotional skill-building into day-to-day activities and implement targeted curriculum and lessons with books, music, games and group discussions.
Effective early care and education professionals consider and support the individual needs of each child within the context of their family and culture. Head Start, the federally funded, locally implemented birth-to-5 program for low-income children,emphasizes that“children’s learning is enhanced when their culture is respected and reflected in all aspects” of an early learning program. Early childhood programs implementingculturally reflective policies and practicesmay look different depending on the setting, but at their core, they are learner-focused, promote a positive cultural and individual identity, and engage all children from unique cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds. Cultural awareness is key for early care and education professionals in forming strong relationships with children and families.
Early care and education professionals are also critical to identifying children who face barriers to healthy social and emotional development and helping families obtain the support they need. They sometimes partner with an early childhood mental health consultant to address challenging behaviors and develop behavior support plans.
An increasing number of early learning settings are implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support(PBIS)frameworks. The frameworks are designed to equip early care and education professionals with the skills and tools they need to support positive social and emotional development and address challenging behavior. A program-wide PBIS does not prescribe a specific curriculum. Instead, it includes a series of practices, interventions and implementation supports that are available across the system. One such framework, the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children(Pyramid Model), is specifically designed for programs serving infants and toddlers.Twenty-five stateshave established statewide coalitions and leadership teams to implement the Pyramid Model (often housed within a state’s human services or education department). The Pyramid Model organizes evidence-based practices into three progressively intensive tiers: universal supports for the wellness of all children, targeted services for those who need more support, and intensive services for those most in need. The model emphasizes how essential early care and education professionals are to the social and emotional well-being of young children by positioning “effective workforce” as the foundation.
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is anevidence-based strategyto support healthy social and emotional development and “prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of mental health problems among young children and their families,” according to the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. IECMH consultantshelp build the capacity of the adultsin young children’s lives to support healthy social and emotional development at home and in early learning settings. IECMH consultants have master’s degrees and are licensed mental health professionals who provide indirect, prevention-based services. They partner with families to assess concerns, assist with implementing positive behavioral supports, and connect families to other services and supports. Within early learning settings, IECMH consultants provide classroom-focused interventions that target all children, home-based interventions for more high-risk children, and referrals for those children who need more specialized services. Additionally, IECMH consultants support early care and education professionals by providing reflective supervision, coaching, training and case consultation.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA)Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultationemphasizes the field’s role in promoting equity and reducing disparities in access to resources and outcomes for young children. Equity, according to SAMHSA’sIECMHC Toolbox, is “the quality of being fair, unbiased, and just.” Equity is essential to reducing disproportionalities among young children of color in suspensions and expulsions in early learning settings. IECMH consultants partner with early care and education professionals to “reflect on their own experiences, biases, and fears—and then move beyond them to see each young child as an individual within a unique family and community context.” There isgrowing evidencethat access to IECMHC reduces the occurrence of suspensions and expulsions for young children.
How Prepared Are Early Care and Education Professionals to Care for Children With Challenging Behaviors?
Despite the importance of their role, many early care and education professionals report not feeling adequately trained to respond to challenging behaviors or to support children at risk of mental health issues. Anational surveyof the early care and education workforce revealed just 20% of respondents received training on supporting social and emotional growth in the past year. When asked what types of support would help them better address the needs of children with challenging behavior,professionals in Mainemost frequently selected additional training (61%) and greater access to early childhood behavioral specialists (57%). In a similarsurvey in Virginia, respondents identified access to specialists (63%), additional supports for families (54%) and increased training for staff (52%) as necessary to improving outcomes for children.
Survey participants in both Maine and Virginia were also asked about the effects of challenging behaviors in the classroom. Concerns included the ability to attend to other children and ensuring the safety and ability of other children to learn. Respondents also noted the negative effect challenging behaviors have on their own well-being.
Without adequate training and supports to handle these stressful situations, early care and education professionals—among whomdepression is not uncommon—burn out and leave the profession. Extremely low wages further contribute to their stress. At an average annual salary of just over $22,000, nearly half of the early care and educationworkforce is enrolledin at least one public support program. These include the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).Researchershave found that stress negatively affects early care and education professionals’ ability to provide positive, high-quality environments and is the primary reason they leave the field. Bringing the problem full circle, high turnover among early care and education professionals disrupts the relationships and attachments formed with the children they care for and islinked to poorer developmental outcomesfor early learners.
Furthermore, early care and education professionals who lack training may be unprepared to distinguish concerning behaviors from those that are developmentally appropriate. Misinterpreting or mischaracterizing behaviors may lead to more punitive discipline and failure to provide appropriate supports. Underprepared professionals are more likely to over-identify children,especially children of color, for special education, disciplinary action and expulsions. Suspensions and expulsionsare more likelyto occur in early learning settings that have high student-adult ratios, private ownership, extended hours, limited access to early childhood behavioral specialists, and teachers who report high levels of stress.
Implicit Bias in Early Learning Settings
In astudy by researchers at Yale University, early care and education professionals were instructed to look for challenging behaviors in a video of an early learning classroom where none was present. Researchers used technology to track eye movements and found that when challenging behaviors were expected, teachers tended to observe the black children more closely, especially the black boys.
Another component of the study found that when teachers were provided additional information on a child’s family and background, and when the teacher’s race matched that of the child, teachers tended to lower the severity rating of the child’s behavior. Researchers concluded by calling for greater connections between early care and education professionals and parents, as well as increased training to address biases and increase empathy.
Suspension and expulsion in early learning settings
Data collectedin recent years by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has shined a spotlight on how common suspensions and expulsions are in early learning settings. In fact, expulsion rates among preschoolers arethree times higherthan those of K-12 students. Stark disparities in suspension and expulsion rates among young children based on race and genderled researchersto question the effect of implicit bias, or the “automatic and unconscious stereotypes that drive people to behave and make decisions in certain ways. Black children, who comprise just 19% of preschool enrollment, make up 47% of preschoolers who are suspended.Research showsstudents of color are more harshly disciplined for the same behaviors exhibited by their white peers. Furthermore, 75% of expelled preschoolers are boys, with black boys being suspended or expelled the most often. The consequences for young children who are suspended or expelled can be significant and long-lasting. The same children are more likely to be suspended or expelled again in later years and to drop out of high school, fail a grade or be incarcerated.
In 2016, U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Education issued apolicy statement and recommendationsaimed at preventing and severely limiting suspensions and expulsions of young children. The departments recommended that early learning programs take the following steps:
- Improve the workforce’s skill set and capacity to support social and emotional development, address challenging behaviors appropriately, and form supportive and nurturing relationships with children and their families.
- Provide training to deepen the workforce’s understanding of cultures and diversity, practice self-reflective strategies and correct biases.
- Increase access to behavioral specialists (including IEMCH consultants).
- Promote the health and well-being of the workforce with reasonable work hours, breaks and access to supports, such as social or mental health services.
The policy statement also made recommendations directly to states, including enacting state policies severely limiting the use of suspensions and expulsions across all early learning settings, collecting data on the use of exclusionary discipline and setting goals for its reduction. It also recommended investing in workforce training and implementing policies to increase quality in early learning settings.
FAQs
Promoting Social-Emotional Development in Your Child
- Love your child and show your affection for them. ...
- Encourage your child to try new things. ...
- Give your child opportunities to play with other children their age. ...
- Show your feelings. ...
- Establish daily routines. ...
- Acknowledge your child's feelings.
Social development refers to a child's ability to create and sustain meaningful relationships with adults and other children. Emotional development is a child's ability to express, recognize, and manage his or her emotions, as well as respond appropriately to others' emotions.
How is social and emotional development supported in early learning settings? ›
Teachers and caregivers promote children's social and emotional health by establishing trusting relationships, created when teachers express warmth, affection, and respect. Teachers can intentionally teach and enhance these skills using evidence-based strategies to teach, model, and reinforce positive behaviors.
How can early childhood teachers promote social-emotional development in the classroom? ›
Provide opportunities for families of the children in your classroom and program to meet and get to know each other. Invite families to observe and participate in some of your classroom activities. Send home books with the children about emotions and social-emotional skills.
What is an example of social and emotional development? ›
Some examples of social-emotional skills in use are: Recognizing if someone is sad, and asking if they're ok. Expressing yourself with your friends in a different way than with your parents. Understanding your thoughts and feelings, and being able to relate to others.
What activities develop social and emotional development? ›
Here are some suggestions for helping your child develop social and emotional skills at home.
- Puppets. ...
- Think out loud. ...
- Read bedtime stories. ...
- Do a job together. ...
- Play games. ...
- Prevent potential problems.
Emotional development examples that occur during childhood include: Responding to a parent or caregiver with a smile — Occurs between infancy and 1 year of age. Recognizing when others are sad — Occurs between 1 year and 2 years of age. Sharing toys with others — Occurs between 3 years and 5 years of age.
What are 3 main aspects of social-emotional development? ›
Social-emotional development consists of three main areas of children's self-regulation:
- Acting: Behaving in socially appropriate ways and ways that foster learning.
- Feeling: Understanding others' emotions and regulation of one's own emotions.
- Thinking: Regulating attention and thoughts.
Beginning early in life, social and emotional learning (SEL) is highly important for helping preschool children to understand and manage their emotions, feel and show empathy for others, establish healthy relationships, set positive goals, and make responsible decisions.
What are some of the important social and emotional skills children learn in preschool? ›
Social-Emotional Developmental Milestones in Preschool
- Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people.
- Copies adults and friends.
- Notices other children and joins them in play.
- Shows affection for friends without prompting.
- Shows concern for crying friend.
- Shows a wide range of emotions.
Five ways to implement social-emotional learning in the classroom
- 1: Start the day with a morning meeting or check-in.
- 2: Teach students to solve problems with peer mediation.
- 3: Use role playing activities.
- 4: Use anchor charts to teach social-emotional skills.
- 5: Check out just as much as you check in.
How can I incorporate SEL in my classroom?
- Start the day with a student check-in. ...
- Create opportunities for partner and group work. ...
- Nurture a culture of kindness. ...
- Build social-emotional vocabulary. ...
- Include reflective writing. ...
- Incorporate a “calm-down corner.” ...
- Allow time for talking. ...
- Teach mindfulness.
Social and emotional learning in schools involves 5 key abilities: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These skills are seen as the foundation upon which people can build all other relational skills.
What are the 4 social emotional learning areas of development? ›
The following descriptions of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) are from CASEL. They address five broad, interrelated areas of competence and provide examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
What are the four areas of emotional and social development? ›
What Is Social and Emotional Development. Children grow and develop rapidly in their first five years across the four main areas of development. These areas are motor (physical), communication and language, cognitive, and social and emotional.
What is social and emotional development in preschool years? ›
The loving relationships that your preschooler has developed with caregivers and family will help them feel more secure when they are in groups of other children. From ages 3 – 5, children are starting to be more aware of the feelings of other people, want to have friendships, and practice being more independent.
Which activity would best promote emotional development? ›
Play is important for all areas of preschooler development, including emotional development. Through play, preschoolers can practise managing strong emotions like excitement, anger and frustration. Play ideas to develop preschooler emotions include sand play, dress-ups, music, drawing, reading and outdoor play.
How do you teach social-emotional skills to kindergarten? ›
5 Ways to Support Social–Emotional Development in Early Childhood
- Use power words.
- Help children understand the consequences of behavior.
- Show while telling.
- Establish “l*ttle rules.”
- Listen actively and empathetically.
5 Stages of Emotional Development
- "How does the emotional healing process work?," is a common question I am asked by people entering their transformative journey. ...
- Stage 1: Acute. ...
- Stage 2: Clearing. ...
- Stage 3: Authentic Self. ...
- Stage 4: Refining Your Gifts. ...
- Stage 5: Mastery & Leadership.
According to the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, strong emotional development leads to five key skills: self-awareness, social-awareness, emotional regulation, responsible decision making and relationship building.
Social development refers to the process by which a child learns to interact with others around them. As they develop and perceive their own individuality within their community, they also gain skills to communicate with other people and process their actions.
What are the 7 areas of social emotional development? ›
ASQ®:SE-2 effectively screens 7 key social-emotional areas children will need for school and for the rest of their lives: self-regulation, compliance, adaptive functioning, autonomy, affect, social-communication, and interaction with people.
What is social development examples? ›
Develop friendships with other kids. Compare themselves to other children and adults. Understand other people's thoughts and feelings. Initiate or join in play with other children and make up games.
What factors influence social and emotional development in childhood? ›
Socio-emotional development is influenced by three central factors: biology, including genetics and temperament, environment, including socioeconomic status and support, and relationships. Biology involves factors such as genetics and temperament (Bohlin & Hagekull, 2009).
What is social emotional learning and why is it important for kids? ›
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success. People with strong social-emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally, and socially.
Why educators should care about social and emotional learning? ›
SEL teaches educators how to effectively manage stress, which in turn will help reduce burnout and high rates of turnover. Self-regulation, coping skills, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation are additional skills that educators need help cultivating.
Why is social and emotional development important to a child's brain function? ›
SEL Shapes the Brain
By providing a kind environment, it helps to encourage optimal brain development as well as social connection and collaboration. In other words, SEL affects learning by shaping children's developing neural circuitry, particularly the executive functions.
What is emotional development in simple words? ›
Emotional development involves learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how and why they occur, recognising your own feelings and those of others, and developing effective ways for managing those feelings.
Why is emotional development important in early childhood? ›
Children's Emotional Development Is Built into the Architecture of Their Brains. Emotional development begins early in life. The ability to regulate one's own emotions and manage successful interactions with other people is key for later academic performance, mental health, and social relationships.
What are two examples of a preschooler's social and emotional development? ›
Awareness of feelings of other people
Pre-K students at this age can: Develop affection and form friendships. Observe how people's actions can indicate their mood. Recognize when a friend is feeling sad (e.g., crying) and respond with kindness.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is sometimes described as the leading skill in social-emotional learning. CASEL defines it as the ability to “understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.”
What are six strategies that improve the social emotional environment? ›
Tips for Improving the Social-Emotional Well-Being of Students
- Instill Coping Skills. ...
- Start a gratitude practice. ...
- Practice the “circle of control” exercise. ...
- Initiate self-care practices. ...
- Take mindfulness breaks. ...
- Facilitate safe socialization.
Broadly speaking, social and emotional learning (SEL) refers to the process through which individuals learn and apply a set of social, emotional, and related skills, attitudes, behaviors, and values that help direct students. This includes thoughts, feelings, and actions in ways that enable them to succeed in school.
What is the teacher's role in social emotional learning? ›
Teachers shape the tone of the classroom, model kindness and problem solving, and help children learn to manage emotions and gain the social skills needed to form healthy relationships.
What is a social emotional learning strategy? ›
Social-emotional learning is a cross-curricular approach to teaching that focuses on the social and emotional skills of children. SEL is an essential tool in helping kids achieve their full potential. It helps increase social awareness, builds positive behaviors all around and contributes to academic performance.
What are social emotional learning practices? ›
SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring ...
What practices enhance their social emotional learning? ›
Here are 12 daily social emotional practices to incorporate:
- Practicing Mindfulness. We all want learners to feel more calm, focused, regulated, and happy. ...
- Positive Affirmations. ...
- SEL Journaling. ...
- Practicing Coping Strategies. ...
- SEL Question of the Day. ...
- Greetings. ...
- Brain Breaks. ...
- Relationship-Building Chats.
Teachers and caregivers promote children's social and emotional health by establishing trusting relationships, created when teachers express warmth, affection, and respect. Teachers can intentionally teach and enhance these skills using evidence-based strategies to teach, model, and reinforce positive behaviors.
What are the 5 keys to social and emotional learning success? ›
The five SEL competencies (self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, social awareness, and relationship skills), are vital to the teaching and understanding of social and emotional learning at school.
What is a key part of social and emotional development? ›
Relationships are the core of social-emotional development. A child's ability to establish and keep relationships is a very important aspect of their development. This is primarily seen in a child's ability to make and keep friends.
Parents and caregivers play the biggest role in social/emotional development because they offer the most consistent relationships for their child. Consistent experiences with family members, teachers and other adults help children learn about relationships and explore emotions in predictable interactions.
How do children develop socially and emotionally? ›
For most infants and young children, social and emotional development unfolds in predictable ways. They learn to develop close relationships with caregivers, soothe themselves when they are upset, share and play with others, and listen and follow directions.
What is one way you can promote children's social and emotional competence? ›
There are three main strategies teachers working with preschool age children can promote social and emotional competence: Teaching or helping children learn to recognize and deal with emotions. Teaching or helping children learn to recognize and solve social problems. Teaching or helping children learn to be friends.
What are the 5 social emotional learning skills? ›
The following descriptions of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) are from CASEL. They address five broad, interrelated areas of competence and provide examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
What are 3 main aspects of social emotional development? ›
Social-emotional development consists of three main areas of children's self-regulation:
- Acting: Behaving in socially appropriate ways and ways that foster learning.
- Feeling: Understanding others' emotions and regulation of one's own emotions.
- Thinking: Regulating attention and thoughts.
Social development in early childhood is a critical aspect of a child's growth and well-being. It lays the foundation for future success in life and helps children build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and navigate the social world around them.
What is the teacher's role in social-emotional learning? ›
Teachers shape the tone of the classroom, model kindness and problem solving, and help children learn to manage emotions and gain the social skills needed to form healthy relationships.
What are the three C's of promoting social and emotional learning? ›
But see, being a SEAL teacher is more than just integrating the arts into SEL and other content area. A SEAL teacher works off these three Cs: Care, Connection and Creativity.
Why are social-emotional skills important for children's learning? ›
Social-emotional learning is vital for students because it teaches them crucial life skills, including the ability to understand themselves, develop a positive self-image, take responsibility for their actions, and forge relationships with the people around them.
What strategies would help the child develop social-emotional skills and emotion regulation? ›
Encourage them to identify if and when their emotions change throughout the day. Seek out books about feelings. Use children's literature to teach kids a wider range of emotion vocabulary and talk about scenarios when children might feel different emotions: excited, gloomy, angry, proud, surprised, jealous, anxious.
