ERIC Number: EJ1354419
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-9289
EISSN: EISSN-1556-6935
Linking Social-Emotional Competence to Behavioral and Academic Adjustment among Chinese Kindergarten Children: A Multilevel Approach
Lam, Chun Bun; Chung, Kevin Kien Hoa; Lam, Chung Sze; Li, Xiaomin
Early Education and Development, v33 n5 p832-845 2022
Research Findings: This cross-sectional study examined the class- and child-level associations of social-emotional competence with behavioral and academic adjustment among Chinese kindergarten children and tested teacher collectivistic socialization goals as a moderator. Participants were 523 kindergarten children and their mothers and class teachers from Hong Kong, China. The mean age of children was 4.37 years (SD = 0.60), and 53% of them were boys. Using paper-and-pencil questionnaires, class teachers rated children's social-emotional competence and their own socialization goals, and mothers rated children's externalizing behaviors and school readiness and provided demographic information. Also, in structured interviews, children completed a Chinese word reading test. Multilevel models indicated that, controlling for child gender and age, mother age and education, and teacher experience of teaching, the class average of child social-emotional competence -- which indicated the overall social-emotional climate of the classroom -- was linked negatively to child externalizing behaviors and positively to child school readiness and Chinese word reading ability. Moreover, children who scored higher on social-emotional competence -- compared to their own class average (i.e., their everyday companions) -- scored lower on externalizing behaviors and higher on school readiness. There was no evidence of the moderating role of teacher socialization goals, however. Practice or Policy: Findings pointed to the utility of using class-wide initiatives to promote the overall classroom climate and using child-specific activities to promote individual social-emotional development.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Kindergarten, Young Children, Social Emotional Learning, Interpersonal Competence, Student Evaluation, Teacher Attitudes, Parent Attitudes, Child Behavior, School Readiness, Vocabulary Skills, Word Recognition, Behavior Problems, Questionnaires, Screening Tests, Student Adjustment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A