Public discourse about education often focuses on formal education, in school and tertiary institutions. Discussion frequently centres around achievement, score and ranking. Trace time back however and you will see the undergrowth. The roots. Those of which support us as we develop. Those early spurts of growth assist us as we move through school and life, wherein conditions change. Antoinette White, an academic from Monash University, recognised how social emotional experiences in the early years of life have the potential to have long lasting effects on our lives. She has dedicated her studies to examining this more closely. As she has discovered, the incidentals of early life experiences shape us in subtle and profound ways.

“Social and emotional skills support virtually every other aspect of a child’s development”, reads an excerpt from the Commonwealth of Australia.[1] Doctors are witnessing the rise of mental health issues, as an unstoppable force it rises to the fore. Governments too are greatly investing in this area. In New Zealand, Jacinta Ahern leads a world first investment in a wellbeing budget for the most vulnerable. The evidence is hard to ignore. Preventative measures are being closely examined and this begins in the early years.

“It provides a protective factor against substance abuse, violence, welfare dependency, criminality, and poor mental health. This has particular significance for disadvantaged at-risk children,” said Antoinette.   

Social and emotional learning can sometimes be a grey area, something taken for granted. However, social and emotional skills are powerful attributes and form a pivotal role in our everyday functioning. Antoinette explains:

“Social and emotional skills foster self-regulation (including the ability to manage frustration), self-management, problem solving, resilience, perseverance, organisation, listening, confidence, and goal directed behaviour.”

“Each plays an important part in regulating behaviour and directing attention to learning.”   

Our social and emotional competencies promote greater mental health and wellbeing throughout life with supporting enhanced executive functioning skills. 

“This is a fancy name given to a group of skills we tend to take for granted every day,” said Antoinette.

“Put simply, they enable us to regulate our behaviour, to inhibit inappropriate responses to upsetting situations, to effectively solve problems, to shift between tasks, and focus on a goal.” 

Antoinette said that these enhanced executive functioning skills are vital for success within school yet extend beyond this.

“It has been defined to also include emotional awareness (identifying one’s own and others emotions), behavioural self-regulation (such as listening and conversational turn-taking), friendship skills, co-operative play, health, safety, and citizenship, diversity, and positive self-identity. All play a lead role in promoting greater mental health and wellbeing throughout a person’s lifetime.” 

Play, throughout life, has a significant role in keeping our mental health and well-being in balance. As a foremost learning tool in the early years of life, play is very important when we examine social emotional development.  

“It is extremely significant,” said Antoinette.

“Research tells us that the early years present as a period of rapid growth and development, and that effective social emotional learning begins in early childhood.” 

“Play is the leading activity during the preschool years.  As such, a play-based environment should be the setting in which intentional teaching practices are incorporated to support children’s social and emotional development.” 

Antoinette joins a robust Monash University research team, an impressive collective of scholars and academics, hand chosen from around the world. She has worked with Marilyn Fleer, the Foundation Chair in Early Childhood Education and Development at Monash University. Marilyn is a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow and is the leading force behind a five-year study investigating Imagination in play and imagination in STEM. It is the first of its kind and will provide much needed evidence to support a large quantity of already present findings. 

The rapport between Marilyn and her students is dynamic and passionate, equally invested they are, in this field of work. 

“We have an amazing group of individuals working together to improve children’s educational experiences and life outcomes. It is inspiring to be surrounded by such incredibly driven and intelligent individuals, with so many strong female role models,” said Antoinette.   

Through her research, Antoinette has discovered a myriad of theoretical perspectives underpinning social and emotional learning in the early years.

“Interestingly, my research has uncovered that opposing theories of child development can be drawn upon, and used in conjunction, to develop an effective social and emotional learning program of instruction. This is an exciting finding, as it indicates social emotional learning is possible in any early childhood setting, regardless of the theoretical underpinning.” 

An important recent finding of Antoinette’s shows that the best practices have a significant effect with universal audiences.

“This means typically developing children, along with children from diverse backgrounds, presenting with diverse abilities benefit from evidence-based social emotional instruction.”

“Depending on the child, visual resources, such as an emotion thermometer may assist with emotion regulation, a much-loved puppet mascot may be the ideal coach for skill instruction and behaviour specific feedback, and modelling through role play and providing opportunity for rehearsal might work best for others.” 

Antoinette’s study recognises that each child is an individual, with individual needs and learning styles. Instruction is therefore tailored to reflect this.

“If I were to pick out a specific finding that has driven my research, it would most likely be the long-term effects for the individual. My passion is in enhancing the lived experiences of individuals, particularly those from minority groups.”

The major focus of Antoinette’s research has been on what kind of social, emotional experiences create optimal learning opportunities. She reviewed evidence-based preschool social emotional learning programs, identifying best instructional practices. 

She found puppets, role play, artwork, games, songs, and visual resources were used by evidence-based programs to develop, reinforce, or communicate children’s understanding of social and emotional concepts/skills. 

Antoinette created evidence-based resources, designed to support educators to meaningfully and intentionally meet the outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework.

“All of which relate to social and emotional development,” said Antoinette.

These resources can be used in the home setting, a playgroup setting, or an early years setting with an educator.

“We know social emotional learning is effective when it is focused, and we know children develop through collaboration with more competent others. The home and preschool setting therefore provide an ideal context.” 

“I would encourage the adults to identify the child/ren’s area of greatest developmental need, the preferred learning style, and instructional activities that would best suit. Start small. Work through the learning sequentially, just as you would in any other learning area. Provide instruction, allow time for rehearsal, and give plenty of behaviour specific feedback on performance.”    

As hoped, Antoinette observed the educator develop more intentional, explicit, and meaningful practices as a result of the resources. 

This dynamic interaction between the educator and the resources resulted in a significant increase in the children’s social and emotional development.

Antoinette has been at the forefront, witnessing meaningful connections through the educator and the child, the parent and the child. She draws on her lived experience.

“It provides a strong foundation for meaningful relationships and positive mental health, and has been associated with positive school transition, school engagement, and enhanced academic performance.”

 Article by Sinead Halliday

References:

1. Commonwealth of Australia, 2012, p.8.

 For further information:

The full list of instructional practices is available in the article, A thematic and content analysis of instructional and rehearsal procedures of preschool social emotional learning programs.

Tip: Social emotional learning is effective when it is sequenced, active, focused, and explicit. Educators can plan meaningful and intentional learning experiences to assist the process of development by sequencing the learning material in a logical order, by providing children with active involvement in the learning material (showing or instructing how to perform a skill, providing opportunities for rehearsal, and giving feedback on performance), allocating adequate time and attention to focusing on a particular concept/skill, and being explicit with learning objectives.