The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the daily life and social relationships of pre-school children globally. While many studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on children, few have compared the home environment and children's social skills before and after the pandemic. To address this research gap, we used data from the Japan Child Care…

In the present study, the associations between emotion regulation, temperament, and the quality of social relationships in early childhood were investigated. Thirty-one grade-one students were the focus of the study. Teachers completed the "School Social Behavior Scale" [Merrell, K. W. (1993). Using behaviour-rating scales to assess…

This study aimed to investigate whether: (1) the development of "theory of mind" (ToM) is associated with social competence; and (2) social peer play is also associated with social competence in young children. Associations between ToM task performance, frequencies of observed social and solitary free-play and parent-rated social…

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of teaching primary caregivers to conduct formative assessment procedures on the development of social interactions between themselves and their infants who were born prematurely and had low birth weight, and who were from economically disadvantaged families. Children's overall development…

Social competence is an essential capability to bring to school because of its relationship to academic success. Development and consolidation of social understanding in early childhood ensures that young children have a solid foundation of social expertise when they begin formal schooling. Social expertise, conceptualized within the framework of…

This study examined the effectiveness of embedding children's social goals into routine activities within inclusive preschool classroom settings. An AB (i.e. baseline and intervention) single-subject design was used across three male participants with identified disabilities. Three student-teachers, enrolled in a master's program at a university,…

Compared social-cognitive development of 40 preschoolers from constructivist and Montessori programs who were playing a board game. Analysis of interpersonal negotiating strategies and conflict management showed that children from constructivist programs were more advanced in their social cognitive competence than were children in the Montessori…

Explores imitations of prosocial actions by 5 mainstreamed handicapped and 10 nonhandicapped preschoolers. Argues that teacher education for work in mainstreamed settings needs to include attention to methods by which young children can be encouraged in prosocial behavior. (DE)

Reviews research available on the development and evaluation of social competence of young children, focusing on children age one through six years. Finds no universally accepted definition of social competence, and notes that social competence is a complex construct involving interrelationships of cognitive, social, and biological factors. (MM)