Social development in childhood: What Is Social and Emotional Development

Опубликовано: March 20, 2023 в 1:20 am

Автор: alexxlab

Категории: Child

Social and Emotional Development in Early Learning Settings

How Is Social and Emotional Development Supported in Early Learning Settings?

Early learning settings are rich with opportunities to build and practice social and emotional skills; however, the quality of these settings affects the degree to which a child’s social and emotional development is supported. In high-quality settings, children benefit from “frequent, warm and stimulating” interactions with caregivers who are attentive and able to individualize instruction based on children’s needs and strengths. Early educators in high-quality settings are trained in early childhood education and tend to be less controlling and restrictive in their approach to classroom management.

Licensure and accreditation, well-trained caregivers, low staff-child ratios and parent involvement are generally considered to be fundamental to high-quality care and education. Such elements not only promote strong, secure relationships and positive interactions between caregiver and child, but also improve attention to children’s interest, problem-solving, language development, social skills and physical development.

High-quality early learning opportunities can also reduce the risk of children experiencing poor mental health. Research shows it can mitigate the effects of poverty, maternal depression and other risk factors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high-quality child care helps build resilience among at-risk children, partly due to the relationships they form with caregivers. When children perceive at least one supportive adult in their life, they are less likely to experience toxic stress and suffer the detrimental effects of adverse experiences.

Well-trained early care and education professionals are critical to supporting social and emotional competence in young children. First and foremost, they build nurturing and responsive relationships with the children in their care and model respectful and appropriate behavior. They weave social and emotional skill-building into day-to-day activities and implement targeted curriculum and lessons with books, music, games and group discussions.

Effective early care and education professionals consider and support the individual needs of each child within the context of their family and culture. Head Start, the federally funded, locally implemented birth-to-5 program for low-income children, emphasizes that “children’s learning is enhanced when their culture is respected and reflected in all aspects” of an early learning program. Early childhood programs implementing culturally reflective policies and practices may look different depending on the setting, but at their core, they are learner-focused, promote a positive cultural and individual identity, and engage all children from unique cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds. Cultural awareness is key for early care and education professionals in forming strong relationships with children and families.

Early care and education professionals are also critical to identifying children who face barriers to healthy social and emotional development and helping families obtain the support they need. They sometimes partner with an early childhood mental health consultant to address challenging behaviors and develop behavior support plans.

An increasing number of early learning settings are implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) frameworks. The frameworks are designed to equip early care and education professionals with the skills and tools they need to support positive social and emotional development and address challenging behavior. A program-wide PBIS does not prescribe a specific curriculum. Instead, it includes a series of practices, interventions and implementation supports that are available across the system. One such framework, the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model), is specifically designed for programs serving infants and toddlers. Twenty-five states have established statewide coalitions and leadership teams to implement the Pyramid Model (often housed within a state’s human services or education department). The Pyramid Model organizes evidence-based practices into three progressively intensive tiers: universal supports for the wellness of all children, targeted services for those who need more support, and intensive services for those most in need. The model emphasizes how essential early care and education professionals are to the social and emotional well-being of young children by positioning “effective workforce” as the foundation.

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is an evidence-based strategy to support healthy social and emotional development and “prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of mental health problems among young children and their families,” according to the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. IECMH consultants help build the capacity of the adults in young children’s lives to support healthy social and emotional development at home and in early learning settings. IECMH consultants have master’s degrees and are licensed mental health professionals who provide indirect, prevention-based services. They partner with families to assess concerns, assist with implementing positive behavioral supports, and connect families to other services and supports. Within early learning settings, IECMH consultants provide classroom-focused interventions that target all children, home-based interventions for more high-risk children, and referrals for those children who need more specialized services. Additionally, IECMH consultants support early care and education professionals by providing reflective supervision, coaching, training and case consultation.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation emphasizes the field’s role in promoting equity and reducing disparities in access to resources and outcomes for young children. Equity, according to SAMHSA’s IECMHC Toolbox, is “the quality of being fair, unbiased, and just. ” Equity is essential to reducing disproportionalities among young children of color in suspensions and expulsions in early learning settings. IECMH consultants partner with early care and education professionals to “reflect on their own experiences, biases, and fears—and then move beyond them to see each young child as an individual within a unique family and community context.” There is growing evidence that access to IECMHC reduces the occurrence of suspensions and expulsions for young children.

How Prepared Are Early Care and Education Professionals to Care for Children With Challenging Behaviors?

Despite the importance of their role, many early care and education professionals report not feeling adequately trained to respond to challenging behaviors or to support children at risk of mental health issues. A national survey of the early care and education workforce revealed just 20% of respondents received training on supporting social and emotional growth in the past year. When asked what types of support would help them better address the needs of children with challenging behavior, professionals in Maine most frequently selected additional training (61%) and greater access to early childhood behavioral specialists (57%). In a similar survey in Virginia, respondents identified access to specialists (63%), additional supports for families (54%) and increased training for staff (52%) as necessary to improving outcomes for children.

Survey participants in both Maine and Virginia were also asked about the effects of challenging behaviors in the classroom. Concerns included the ability to attend to other children and ensuring the safety and ability of other children to learn. Respondents also noted the negative effect challenging behaviors have on their own well-being.

Without adequate training and supports to handle these stressful situations, early care and education professionals—among whom depression is not uncommon—burn out and leave the profession. Extremely low wages further contribute to their stress. At an average annual salary of just over $22,000, nearly half of the early care and education workforce is enrolled in at least one public support program. These include the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Researchers have found that stress negatively affects early care and education professionals’ ability to provide positive, high-quality environments and is the primary reason they leave the field. Bringing the problem full circle, high turnover among early care and education professionals disrupts the relationships and attachments formed with the children they care for and is linked to poorer developmental outcomes for early learners.

Furthermore, early care and education professionals who lack training may be unprepared to distinguish concerning behaviors from those that are developmentally appropriate. Misinterpreting or mischaracterizing behaviors may lead to more punitive discipline and failure to provide appropriate supports. Underprepared professionals are more likely to over-identify children, especially children of color, for special education, disciplinary action and expulsions. Suspensions and expulsions are more likely to occur in early learning settings that have high student-adult ratios, private ownership, extended hours, limited access to early childhood behavioral specialists, and teachers who report high levels of stress.

Implicit Bias in Early Learning Settings

In a study by researchers at Yale University, early care and education professionals were instructed to look for challenging behaviors in a video of an early learning classroom where none was present. Researchers used technology to track eye movements and found that when challenging behaviors were expected, teachers tended to observe the black children more closely, especially the black boys.

Another component of the study found that when teachers were provided additional information on a child’s family and background, and when the teacher’s race matched that of the child, teachers tended to lower the severity rating of the child’s behavior. Researchers concluded by calling for greater connections between early care and education professionals and parents, as well as increased training to address biases and increase empathy.

Suspension and expulsion in early learning settings

Data collected in recent years by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has shined a spotlight on how common suspensions and expulsions are in early learning settings. In fact, expulsion rates among preschoolers are three times higher than those of K-12 students. Stark disparities in suspension and expulsion rates among young children based on race and gender led researchers to question the effect of implicit bias, or the “automatic and unconscious stereotypes that drive people to behave and make decisions in certain ways. Black children, who comprise just 19% of preschool enrollment, make up 47% of preschoolers who are suspended. Research shows students of color are more harshly disciplined for the same behaviors exhibited by their white peers. Furthermore, 75% of expelled preschoolers are boys, with black boys being suspended or expelled the most often. The consequences for young children who are suspended or expelled can be significant and long-lasting. The same children are more likely to be suspended or expelled again in later years and to drop out of high school, fail a grade or be incarcerated.

In 2016, U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Education issued a policy statement and recommendations aimed at preventing and severely limiting suspensions and expulsions of young children. The departments recommended that early learning programs take the following steps:

Improve the workforce’s skill set and capacity to support social and emotional development, address challenging behaviors appropriately, and form supportive and nurturing relationships with children and their families.
Provide training to deepen the workforce’s understanding of cultures and diversity, practice self-reflective strategies and correct biases.
Increase access to behavioral specialists (including IEMCH consultants).
Promote the health and well-being of the workforce with reasonable work hours, breaks and access to supports, such as social or mental health services.

The policy statement also made recommendations directly to states, including enacting state policies severely limiting the use of suspensions and expulsions across all early learning settings, collecting data on the use of exclusionary discipline and setting goals for its reduction. It also recommended investing in workforce training and implementing policies to increase quality in early learning settings.

Promoting Social-Emotional Development in Your Child

Our Blog: February 27^th, 2015

From the moment your child is born they are developing a sense of self and the world around them. They begin to learn to trust you. As you build a bond with them they feel secure in their world. This sets the stage for their entire developmental future. You help them develop socially and emotionally. Social development is our interaction with others. It is the ability to form secure relationships. Emotional development is regulating and expressing emotions. It involves the way one feels about themselves, others and the world.

Recent research shows a direct connection between healthy social-emotional development and academic success. The National Academy of Sciences identified three qualities children need to be ready for school: intellectual skills, motivation to learn, and strong social/emotional capacity. The report states:

Strong social-emotional development underlies all later social, emotional, and academic success. Young children who develop strong early relationships with parents, family, caregivers, and teachers learn how to pay attention, cooperate, and get along with others. They are confident in their ability to explore and learn from the world around them.

A person’s life experiences, genetic make up, and temperament can affect their social-emotional development. As your child’s first role model, you can send a positive message to them. Start by being supportive.

Love your child and show your affection for them. Hug, cuddle, read, and talk with them throughout the day.
Encourage your child to try new things. Help them see what they are capable of. Let your child know you are pleased with their accomplishments.
Give your child opportunities to play with other children their age. Help them explore their world and get to know the people in it. Model kind and generous behaviors when interacting with other adults and children.
Show your feelings. Let your child see when you are happy or sad. This helps them to develop empathy for others.
Establish daily routines. Your child will feel confident and secure. They will learn that events can happen in an organized way. Create routines that are predictable but flexible.
Acknowledge your child’s feelings. Help them talk about what they feel and how they are feeling. Comfort your child when they are upset. Hold them and speak softly and calmly.

Provide positive social-emotional opportunities for your child. They will feel good about themselves and develop confidence. Your child will form secure relationships with others and ultimately will be able to focus and learn. This strong and healthy foundation will lead to future academic success.

Let’s Connect!

Department of Family, Motherhood and Childhood

Subsistence minimum
13225 rub

Minimum wage
16242 rub

Head of Department – Eskindarova Lelya Abdurakhmanovna
tel. +7(8782)26-44-76; 26-67-08

The purpose and objectives of the department

Ensuring the realization of the right of families, women and children to protection and assistance from the state, strengthening coordination in organizing and conducting work to improve social support for families with children, as much as possible effective protection of socially vulnerable categories of families and children, increasing the social status and role of women in society, the institution of the family. nine0037
Implementation, together with interested executive bodies of state power of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, institutions and organizations, of measures to prevent neglect, homelessness and juvenile delinquency, organization and conduct of recreation and recreation for children and adolescents.
Ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of children with disabilities, rehabilitation and social integration of children with disabilities.

nine0036 Implementation on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic of a unified state policy in the field of social protection of the family and childhood, monitoring compliance with federal and republican legislation in this area.

Functions of the department:

Development and implementation of state programs of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in the field of social protection of families and children, participation in the development and implementation of federal state programs for the provision of state social assistance to families with children and the development of a system of social services for children in Karachay-Cherkess Republic. nine0037
Organization of a set of measures to implement the state policy in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in the field of improving the situation of low-income families, families with children, women and children.
Implementation of state policy in strengthening the institution of the family, improving the quality of family life, raising the social status and role of women in society.
Preparation of an annual report on the situation of children in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

nine0036 Implementation, together with the interested executive bodies of state power of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, institutions and organizations, to prevent neglect, homelessness and juvenile delinquency.

Participation within its competence in solving the problems of neglect and delinquency of minors, protection of their rights and legitimate interests.
Development of a network of social service institutions for families and children (social rehabilitation centers for minors, centers for social assistance to families and children, boarding schools for disabled children). nine0037
Implementation of coordination, control and methodological support of the activities of social service institutions for children in difficult life situations, children with disabilities.
Organizational and methodological guidance for the appointment and payment:
– monthly allowance for a child;
– monthly allowance for child care;
– monthly cash payment for the third child or subsequent children until the child reaches the age of three years; nine0003
– republican maternity capital at the birth (adoption) of the fourth child or subsequent children;
– a one-time allowance for the pregnant wife of a conscripted military serviceman and a monthly allowance for a child of a conscripted military serviceman;
– monthly compensation payment to unemployed women with children under the age of 3 who were dismissed due to the liquidation of the organization;
– citizens of the state lump-sum allowance and monthly monetary compensation in the event of post-vaccination complications; nine0003
– a one-time monetary incentive to a person awarded the Order of Parental Glory;
Organizational and methodological guidance for the provision of social support measures for families with many children and families in which one or both parents are disabled.
Examination of a petition and materials on awarding the honorary badge of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic “Mother’s Glory” and the Order of the Russian Federation “Parental Glory”.
Organization and provision of recreation and health improvement for children (except for the organization of children’s recreation during vacation time). nine0037
Development, within the limits of its competence, of binding regulatory legal acts on the implementation by local governments of certain state powers and the procedure for their implementation.
Organizational and methodological guidance on the implementation of certain state powers transferred to local governments and the correctness of the appointment and payment of benefits.
Analysis of weekly information, monthly, annual reports of municipal bodies of social protection of the population of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, compilation of a consolidated report and submission to federal authorities and the Ministry of Finance of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. nine0037
Organizational and methodological support and control
activities of bodies and institutions of social protection on the transportation of minors who left their families without permission, at the expense of the federal budget;
Organizational and methodological support for implementation
current legislation on medical and social rehabilitation of children with disabilities;
Organizational and methodological support for the activities of departments for the formation of a statistical data bank on families with children in difficult life situations and socially dangerous situations (by category). nine0037
Conducting seminars, “round tables”, meetings, conferences, the use of other forms of organizational and methodological assistance to managers and social work specialists for the purpose of
introduction, generalization and dissemination of best practices in organizing social protection and social services for families and children, including families with children with disabilities;
Organization and holding of thematic events (family day, children’s day, mother’s day, disabled people’s day, New Year’s holidays, festivals, sports days for disabled children). nine0037
Ensuring timely consideration of letters, complaints and applications from citizens.
Organization of work on coverage in the media of issues within the scope of the department.
Provision of public services to provide citizens with advisory assistance in the field of social services.

Shakov Ruslan Aisovich

About management – District department of social development (Pushkinsky city district)

Dear residents of the Pushkinsky City District, welcome to the website of the District Social Development Department No. 27.

Here you can find all the necessary information about the services provided, the management structure, contacts and work schedule, as well as subordinate institutions.

The “News” section publishes information about payments made, planned activities, ongoing activities and changes in legislation in the social sphere.

If you have any questions, you can contact us by phone:

122 extension 6.

Goal of the Department: implementation of federal, regional legislation and social policy on the territory of Pushkinsky City District. The work is aimed at providing state guarantees and benefits in the field of social protection of the population, strengthening the targeting of social support, concentration of financial and material resources
to provide assistance to socially vulnerable groups of the population. nine0004

Main activities:

– implementation of the functioning of the system of social protection of low-income
and socially unprotected groups of the population;

– provision of state guarantees and measures of social support in the field of social protection of the population in the territory of the Pushkinsky City District;

– development of a network of social service institutions for the population.

About 19 people are registered with the District Department of Social Development No. 273 thousand people, including:

3670 large families, 1053 disabled children, more than 4 thousand low-income families.

In order to support motherhood and childhood, residents of the Okrug are provided with social benefits, state social assistance, emergency social assistance, and other payments.

In 2022, social benefits were provided to more than 3,000 families with children with an income below the subsistence level. Monthly allowance was provided to 193 low-income families with disabled children. nine0004

Payment in connection with the birth (adoption) of the first child before they reach the age of 3 is provided to 1,120 young families.

212 families applied for the sale of funds from regional maternity (family) capital. The funds are used to improve the living conditions of the family and the education of the child, as well as for the annual payment.

Payments for the purchase of clothes for students were provided for 4,145 children from a large family and 113 children with disabilities. nine0004

Children from large families, children receiving a survivor’s pension, disabled children and accompanying persons are provided with free travel on the social card of a resident of the Moscow Region.

By the beginning of the new academic year, first-graders from low-income families were given backpacks with a set of school stationery.

In order to improve the health of children from families in difficult life situations, 145 children were provided with free vouchers, 13 children received compensation for the cost of vouchers. nine0004

In the Pushkinsky City District, many privileged categories use the services of “Compensation for housing and communal services”, these are:

– participants and disabled veterans of the Second World War;

– invalids;

– large families;

– veterans of labor and military service;

– war veterans;

– rehabilitated and repressed citizens;

– honorary donors;

– pensioners;

– rural state employees and other categories, which is more than 50 thousand .