Effect of Preschool Teachers experience on Strategies to Scaffold Socioemotional competence among Preschool children

Abstract

The learning process, mental health and well-being of children in the future are founded on their Pre-school experiences. Focal to this is the children’s Socio-Emotional Competencies (SEC) which help them recognize, understand and appropriately express their emotions as well as identify and appreciate others’ emotional expression. Children with poor SEC end up with deprived overall life outcomes. This paper examines the effect of pre-school teachers’ experience on the strategies they use to scaffold SEC in children. Teachers’ experience was categorized into: novice; fairly experienced and experienced while socio-emotional competence was examined in four areas including self-awareness, relationship management, social awareness and self-management. Using a mixed method research design 98 private and public pre-schools were sampled; 301 pre-school teachers purposively selected; 6 pre-school teachers interviewed and 2 pre-school classrooms observed. Data was collected using questionnaires, observation checklist and interview schedules. Results revealed a significant effect of pre-school teachers experience on strategies used to scaffold SEC in children at a p value = 0.003; with teachers’ strategies to scaffold SEC among children improving with experience. The identified strategies for experienced teachers were that they showed concern for one another as well as taking keen interest in the children’s individual differences. The study concluded that pre-school teachers’ experience influence scaffolding strategies to children’s SEC. The study recommends that efforts be made to control high turnover of pre-school teachers. Professional development and continuing education that focuses on non-cognitive skills in children should be encouraged among all pre-school teachers.