ERIC Number: EJ1418850
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2192-001X
EISSN: EISSN-2191-7485
Keeping Early Social-Emotional Learning Developmental: The Development, Implementation, and Preliminary Evaluation of a Preventive Intervention Program for Early Childhood Education and Care
Maryam Zarra-Nezhad; Katja Suhonen; Nina Sajaniemi
International Journal of Developmental Science, v17 n4 p113-125 2024
Early childhood forms the fundamental basis for developing various social-emotional skills and represents a unique opportunity to lay the foundation for healthy development. Insensitive learning environments in early childhood may lead to social-emotional difficulties, increasing the risk of developing severe behavioral problems. However, professional development (PD) opportunities that support early childhood education professionals' (ECEPs) knowledge and skills to promote young children's social and emotional development are scarce. In Finland, notably, the increasing need to enhance competence through further training has been widely recognized. Therefore, this study introduced the POMPedaSens program in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland. The program aims to promote children's social-emotional learning (SEL) by supporting ECEPs' engagement and emotional availability. As a universal intervention program, POMPedaSens includes all children in ECEC regardless of risk factors. The present study included 200 children (M[subscript age] = 72.27 months, SD = 5.48; 53% girls) and 62 ECEPs (M[subscript age] = 43.82 years, SD = 11.71; 95% female). ECEPs received the intervention training to implement the curriculum in their everyday daycare routine. The present study describes the program design, implementation, and results from a preliminary evaluation of the social validity of the POMPedaSens program, measured by the ECEPs' satisfaction with the program. The results of the social validity evaluation suggested high teachers' satisfaction and improved children's SEL. These findings prove that the program may effectively build ECEPs' capacity to promote children's SEL.
Descriptors: Social Emotional Learning, Early Intervention, Program Evaluation, Program Development, Program Implementation, Foreign Countries, Young Children, Early Childhood Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A