Evaluation of a Program for Developing Socio-Emotional Competencies in Preschool Children

Research in the last decade has shown that social and emotional competencies in preschool children are a key element in predicting school adjustment and success in life. Also, children with deficits in these areas are at risk for developing emotional and behavioral problems and for social exclusion at school. Educators need to have knowledge and skills to implement such programs in kindergarten, to be able to evaluate, monitor and develop socio-emotional competencies in preschool children. The present study evaluates the efficiency of such a program conducted in kindergarten. The program involved offering training for 9 preschool educators and implementing specific activities with 100 children age 3-7 years old during a one month period. An initial and final assessment of socio-emotional competencies of children was made, using PEDa (Developmental Evaluation Platform), an original instrument developed by COGNITROM SRL in Romania. Results have shown a significant improvement of socio-emotional competencies in children aged 5 and 7, involving understanding and regulating emotions, prosocial behavior and rule compliance. At age 3 the progress made by children was not statistically significant, probably due to the short duration of the program and language development of children. The present study proves that such programs are efficient and necessary and preschool educators need to focus not only on cognitive development of children but also on socio-emotional dimensions relevant for adjustment later in school and life