Investigation of preschool children's social and emotional competence

Recent studies on early childhood have focused on children's social and emotional development. The fact that preschoolers have adequate social and emotional competence makes a positive contribution to their other areas of development. Given individual development and differences of every single child, it has been an issue of concern to determine how well children demonstrate age-specific social and emotional skills and whether these skills differ according to age, sex and socio-economic level. Therefore, the researcher sought an answer to the question "What level of social and emotional competence do preschoolers demonstrate?" in this research. The participants of this research consisted of the parents and teachers of 36-66 month-old preschoolers (315 female and 306 male children) who attended independent kindergartens affiliated to Izmir Provincial Directorate of National Education in the fall term of 2015-2016 school year. Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Scale (DECA-P2) was used in this research. Also, validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the scale was conducted in this research. 621 parents and 149 teachers responded to DECA-P2 Scale and demographic questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and the results of both parent and teacher version in the Turkish sample were found similar to the original DECA-P2 scale. In the teacher version of the scale, the factor loadings of the items in behavioral concerns sub-scale were found between 0.22-0.74, the ones in self regulation sub-scale were found between 0.41-0.64, the ones in attachment/relationship sub-scale were found between 0.23-0.68 and the ones in initiative sub-scale were found between 0.48-0.68. As for the parent version of the scale, the factor loadings of the items in behavioral concerns sub-scale were found between 0.21-0.49, the ones in self regulation sub-scale were found between 0.40-0.53, the ones in attachment/relationship sub-scale were found between 0.25-0.43 and the ones in initiative sub-scale were found between 0.40-0.55. Reliability analysis of both parent and teacher version of DECA-P2 Scale in the Turkish sample was evaluated using Cronbach's Alpha. Cronbach's Alpha was found .91 for the teacher version of the whole DECA-P2 scale. Cronbach's Alpha was found .80 for behavioral concerns sub-scale, .86 for self regulation sub-scale, .76 for attachment/relationship sub-scale and .88 for initiative sub-scale. As for the parent version of the whole DECA-P2 scale, Cronbach's Alpha was found .85. Cronbach's Alpha was found .68 for behavioral concerns sub-scale, .78 for self regulation sub-scale, .66 for attachment/relationship sub-scale and .78 for initiative sub-scale. The validity and reliability results of DECA-P2 Scale in the Turkish sample revealed that this scale could be used in Turkish culture. The results of this research indicate that female children have more initiative and better self regulation skills than male ones according to parents. Although parents state that male children are better in attachment/relationship skills, they have more behavioral concerns. According to teachers, female children are better in initiative, self regulation, attachment/relationship skills, whereas they have more behavioral concerns. Neither teachers nor parents state that children's social and emotional competence does not differ according to socio-economic level. According to the evaluations of parents, 60-66 month-old children have better self regulation skills than the other age groups; 48-59 month-old children have more behavioral concerns than the other age groups. According to the evaluations of teachers, 60-66 month-old children have better self regulation skills, yet they have more behavioral concerns than the other age groups. These results indicate that DECA-P2 Scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing children's social and emotional competence. According to DECA-P2 Scale, children in Izmir province have initiative and self regulation skills. However, they should be developed in terms of attachment/relationship skills and behavioral concerns. As a consequence, DECA-P2 Scale is thought to be an alternative tool for assessing social and emotional competence of preschoolers. Keywords: Social and emotional competence, initiative, self regulation, behavioral concerns, attachment/relationship, preschool