Enhancing social-emotional well-being in young children through improving teachers’ social-emotional competence and curriculum design in Hong Kong

摘要

This study aimed to evaluate an intervention programme for the enhancement of social-emotional well-being of young children through improving the social-emotional competence of kindergarten teachers and a specifically designed curriculum, in an urban city in the East Asia region. The design and some preliminary results on the outcome evaluations of the intervention programme are reported in this paper. The design of the intervention programme was based on the conceptual framework of the evidence-based Wisconsin Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. Kindergarten teachers and children under their care were recruited using a random cluster sampling technique with teachers undergoing a training programme for 2?months with hands on workshops. The social-emotional well-being of preschool children was assessed with the Social Competence and Behavioural Evaluation (SCBE-30) Scale pre- and post-intervention. Changes in outcome measures that compared assessments between baseline and post-intervention were analysed with adjustment to clustering effects. Results suggested a statistically significant improvement in social competence and reduction to anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression after intervention. These results were indicative of a potentially successful intervention programme that would require a proper trail to establish its efficacy.