bece 210 case study.docx

8/10/2019 Bece 210 Case Study.docx

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Comparing Two Young children on Their Socio-emotional, Disciplinary and Socialization

Behavior.

Heng Yuen Yee

B1301379

Department of Early Childhood Education

Bece 210

Ms. Maureen Szetho


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Case Study 2

Table of Content

Title Page

1. Introduction 3

2. Methodology

Procedure of the study 3 - 5

Sample of the study 5

Precaution taken to ensure the validity of study 5 - 6

Threats to internal validity 6

Data collection instruments used and their appropriateness 6 - 7

Recording procedure deployed in the study 7

Suitability of the procedures 7

3. Findings and Discussion 7 - 9

Socio-emotional behavior of the children 9 - 11

Disciplinary behavior of the children 11 - 12

Socialization behavior of the children 12 - 13

4. Conclusion 13 - 14

5. References 15 - 16

6. Appendix 17 - 27


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Case Study 3

Introduction

The main objective of the study is to examine the socio-emotional, disciplinary and

socialization behavior of two children from different age groups through observation and

comparison. Furthermore, this study also aimed at exploring in depth the young childrens

behavior in order to better understand why children behave in such a way and thus provide

proper solutions, modifications and recommendations on both the childs behavior. Besides,

the purpose of conducting this study is to help professional educators, teachers and parents to

learn more about the children, caters to their needs and desires and thus measure the

appropriateness of each experience that are provided for them so to improve childrens

learning and development. Throughout this study, the socio emotional, disciplinary and

socialization behavior of the targeted children will be investigated. Both of the childrens

behavior will be observed and recorded for further investigation and thus comparison will be

made between the children.

Methodology

Procedure of the study. First of all, I came out with an idea of involving children of

aged four to five years old, teachers and peers in the study as well as choosing the location

which I would be carrying out my observation.

No. Procedure Date/Time

1. Getting Permission

I called to the kindergarten which I have chosen, the

Summer Academy Kindergarten to get permission

from their principal regarding the request of carrying

out observation and interview there.

23rdof September

Afternoon


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Case Study 4

2. Scheduling Appointments

As soon as the principal approved my request, I

started to schedule my appointments.

24thof September

Morning

3. Preparation of Interview Questions

I prepared a few interview questions before attending

the appointments with the teachers.

27thof September

Afternoon

4. Childrens Name, Age and Important Data

I have collected the childrens name and age as well as other important information

regarding the child during each observation.

Observation 1: Julian (5 years old) 14thof October

1.00-2.10pm

Observation 2: Hunson (4 years old) 20thof October

2.30-3.40pm

5. List People to Interview and Schedule Interviews

I have listed a list of people to be interviewed, which are the teachers who usually

work with the targeted children and thus schedule each interviews with the teachers.

First Interview: Julian (5 years old)

Teacher: Anonymous

15thof October

10.00-10.20am


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Case Study 5

Second Interview: Hunson (4 years old)

Teacher Anonymous

21stof October

10.00-10.18am

6. List the Focus.

I listed three major aspects to focus on throughout the observation and the study,

which are the socio emotional, disciplinary as well as socialization behavior of the

children.

7. Record Observation

I recorded my observation using the running record method and collected other

important data.

8. Build Explanation and Findings

I built up my own explanation and findings based on all data collections and

observations.

Sample of the study. According to Gay and Airasian (2000), sampling refers to the

process in selecting a number of individuals for the purpose of a study, in which these

individuals represent the larger group from which they are selected. The sample of this study

comprised of two boys of aged four and five year old, which are Hunson and Julian.

Precautions taken to ensure the validity of the study. There were a few precautions

taken in order to ensure the validity of the study, for instance, I leaved my house earlier so to

avoid heavy traffic and because of that, I had more time to do my preparations before having

an observation and interview session with the children and teachers. Other than that, during


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Case Study 6

each observation, I observed and recorded the child quietly without having the child noticing

that he was actually being observed by someone. As children might behave differently when

they know there are eyes observing and watching them. Hence, observing the child quietly

might help to improve the validity of the study so that the child would behave naturally and

behave as normal as possible. Furthermore, as a precaution procedure, I recorded only the

facts and every detail of the incident happened throughout each observation without omitting

anything. Besides, I have orderly recorded each incident and facts happened throughout the

observation.

Threats to internal validity. As an observer, there are threats to the internal validity

which I would need to take into considerations, for example, the emotions of the child during

the observation. It was raining during the time I carried out my observation with the children,

while teachers were actually planning to have an outdoor play activity with the children.

However, the scheduled outdoor play activity was forced to cancel due to the weather which I

think it might more or less affect the childrens emotions. Instead of having an outdoor play

activity, they had to stay inside the classroom. Hence, children can easily get angry,

depressed, upset or sad and thus it may affect the internal validity of the study. Other than

that, teachers might also act differently than normal because they knew I was observing them

and the children. Hence, it might also affect the internal validity of the study, which I

considered as one of the threats.

Data collection instruments used and their appropriateness. I used running record

method, paper, stationaries and video recorder to record the observations of Hunson and

Julian. I found that using running record method and video recorder are appropriate for the

study as all behaviors are written by recording every single behavior that occurs. In

conjunction with that, I could play back the video to check if I have left out any important

incidents. Hence, it gives me a complete picture of all incidents happened within that period


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Case Study 7

of time and allows me to appropriately analyze and draw conclusions based on the data

collected. Besides, I used voice recorder to record the interviews with teachers. It is

appropriate as it allows me to refer back and check through if I have missed any important

data. Hence, all important data of the child are recorded.

Recording procedure deployed in the study. I prepared a paper, stationaries and

video recorder to record the observations. Each observation was recorded from time to time

and every single incident happened are orderly recorded as well. After the observations, I

played back the video to make sure all incidents are recorded appropriately. As for the

interview, I prepared a teacher interview protocol before interviewing the teachers and set up

my voice recorder before starting an interview session. Then, I referred back to the voice

recorder in order to collect important data. After recording all observations and interviews, I

have deleted the video and audio files due to privacy issues.

Suitability of the procedures. The procedures are suitable in the context of this study

as it reduces my research time by having each step to be clearly planned and arranged before

carrying out my study. Along with that, it becomes much easier for me to manage my data

and findings as well as helping me to effectively compare the data collected and finally draw

conclusions after all.

Findings and Discussion

It was an experimental study, which I focused on three major aspects, examining the

socio-emotional, disciplinary and socialization behavior of young children through observing

and comparing them. According to National Healthy Start Association (n. d.), social

emotional is seen as a fundamental and crucial part of childrens health and well -being.

Social emotional not only reflects but also impacts upon the brains wiring development as

well as the function (National Healthy Start Association, n. d.). National Healthy Start


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Case Study 8

Association (n. d.) mentioned that social emotional development, also sometimes known as

the childrens mental health spans from how a child interact with others to how he or she

cope and manage with the stress and adversity. According to National Healthy Start

Association (n. d.), social emotional development in the early years set up a precedent which

prepares the children to have self-confidence in themselves, intellectually inquisitive,

empathic, competent in using language as their communication skills, trusting and thus,

capability to relate well with others.

Hence, it is extremely important that children emerged with good social and

emotional skills as this might help to form a critical foundation for wellness and learning

which will guide them into their future adulthood. Other than social emotional behavior, I

also focused on child discipline in this study. The way that a child is disciplined may affects

the childs behavioral, physical and mental well-being (Bates, Deater-Deckard, Dodge &

Pettit, 2003, as cited in Snyder & Bub, n. d.). American Humane Association (2013) stressed

that it is the part of childrens natural development to sometimes test or challenge the adults

or parents authority and expectations. Childrens misbehavior might simply takes place just

to intentionally gain attention, power, something they want or even peer approval. Therefore,

enforcing positive disciplinary behavior in young children at an early stage is crucial as

discipline is how they learn what is right and what is wrong; what they can do and what they

should not do; what is acceptable and what is unacceptable (American Humane Association,

2013). Besides, adult and parental discipline of young children is designed in a way to help

them to engage better with others as well as to control and modify their behavior (American

Humane Association, 2013).

In addition, the socialization behavior of young children is another major focus in this

study. Perrino (2011) found that the socialization process has most dramatic impacts on

childrens education. According to Perrino (2011), family, peers, school, society, mass media


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Case Study 9

as well as religion play a vital and essential role in the socialization process and

fundamentally, the education process. Family as the primary agent of socialization plays a

fundamental role in transmitting the basic values which nurture and encourage learning in

young children (Perrino, 2011). On the other hand, school as the major agent of socialization

also takes the responsibility in transmitting important information and knowledge to the

young children (Perrino, 2011). As children socialize with others, they have the opportunity

to explore the world and thus connect to the rest of the world at their own pace. Children

become more and more independent and later success in their academic. Hence, socialization

process has huge impact on a childs learning and development (Perrino, 2011).

Socio-emotional behavior of the children. Throughout my observations, Julian

exhibited difficult temperament; he has no idea on how his actions might actually affect

people around him. According to the incidents which I have recorded in my observation,

Julian tends to snatch toys from other children. Unfortunately, he accidentally hits his friend,

Gavin. He then excused himself from such action by pointing the blame on others. Julian

could not understand others and he tends to push others away to have his way. Research by

Saudino (2005) showed that there is a correlation between environmental factors and child

temperament. Children who exhibit difficult temperament might probably influenced by the

parents, teachers, peers and social media. According to Banduras social learning theory,

children learn a behavior by observing and imitating others (McLeod, 2011). Parents within

the family are the nearest people to the child. Hence, parents become the model of their

children. Parents who exhibit difficult temperament will directly influence the childs

behavior and children will eventually learn the behavior as well. Additionally, children can

learn behaviors from teachers at school, peer groups as well as the characters on television

(McLeod, 2011).


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Case Study 10

In addition, according to the interview with Julians teacher, Julian tends to be

aggressive and destructive. According to the incidents I have recorded in my observation,

Julian destroyed the tower that his friend has built and laughed when the tower collapsed. He

might probably want to join other childrens play; it is just that he does not know how to

express his feelings and desires. According to Eriksons psychosocial stages of development,

children between the ages of three to five years old tend to interact regularly with peers at

school (McLeod, 2008). McLeod (2008) stressed that play allows children to explore and

practice their interpersonal skills through initiating activities. Conversely, lagging of this

opportunity might lead to the child in developing a sense of guilt, either through control or

criticism (McLeod, 2008). According to the teacher, Julian tends to gain attention from others

by being aggressive and destructive. This might due to him did not get sufficient attention at

home as he is from single parent family background in which his parents had divorced. This

affects not only his emotions but also led to his behavioral problems.

In contrast, unlike Julian, Hunson tends to express his feelings more frequently. He

tends to understand and care for others feelings as well as view situations from other

peoples perspectives. According to Kohlbergs stages of moral development, he stressed that

children begins to recognize others viewpoint at the second stage of pre-conventional level

(McLeod, 2011). Additionally, Hunson tends to express his feelings and emotions through

drawing. He can explain to others what he has drawn and tell others about his feelings.

According to the interview with Hunsons teacher, Hunson is able to speak out his feelings

and emotions, for instance, he can tell others when he is angry or even upset.

Other than that, Hunson shows good interpersonal skills, where he often plays and

interacts with other children at school. As what I have mentioned before, Eriksons

psychosocial stages of development stressed that children between the ages of three to five

years old tend to interact regularly with peers and this allows children to practice their


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Case Study 11

interpersonal skills (McLeod, 2008). Children feel security when they are able to make

decisions and lead others, in conjunction with that, children will eventually develop a sense

of initiative (McLeod, 2008).

Disciplinary behavior of the children. According to the incidents I have recorded in

my observation, Julian seems to be disrespectful to the teacher. When teacher was talking to

him, he turned his back to the teacher, instead of replying the teacher. Later, Julian showed

anger and screamed at his teacher and friend by saying, I dont like you and I dont like

Gavin too! Besides, he did not follow teachers instruction when teacher asked him to pick

up the toy. From the observation, I found that Julian tends to be disobedient and a little

violent. He threw the toy away in front of the teacher. And when his friend, Gavin invited

him to join his play, Julian rejected and pushed Gavin away. Other than that, Julian tends to

tell lies too. He might have learned the behavior from his parents as well as from the

television programs. Based on Banduras social learning theory, Julian might have learned

the behavior at home. According to the teacher, Julians parents had divorcedand he stays

with his mother. It is most probably that Julian learned the behavior from his parents where

his parents might have practice physical punishment and always argue against the use of

physical punishment at home. Hence, it is important that parents model and teach desired

behaviors to the children as well as establish positive reinforcement (Waterson, 2000).

Based on Skinnersbehavioral learning theory, Skinner mentioned about the term

operant conditioning; he identified three different types of operant that follow the behaviors,

which are the neutral operant, reinforces and punishers (McLeod, 2007). McLeod (2007)

stressed that positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by rewarding children for

exhibiting good behavior. However, parents and teachers should not reward or praise a child

when the child is exhibiting undesired behavior. In this case, parents and teachers should use

negative reinforcement to help Julian to remove his misbehavior. Teacher can explain to him


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Case Study 12

that there are consequences if he snatches things and hits other children. Other than that,

teacher should pay more attention on Julian and caters to his needs. Instead of having him to

lend toys to others without understanding his needs, teacher should help him to reason why

snatching toys from others is unacceptable, how others feel when he snatches things from

them and explains the reasons for being discipline.

Conversely, Hunson exhibits good discipline where he respects teacher and being

obedient to teacher. According to the incidents I have recorded in my observation, Hunson

always ask for teachers opinion about his drawing. He asked, Teacher, can I draw a circle?

When teacher said, Of course, you can draw anything you like., only he continued to draw

the circle. According to the teacher, Hunsons parents hold high expectations on him as he is

the only child in the family. Hence, Hunson is fear of failure; he gets upset when he could not

complete a task. It is probably that Hunsons parents do not always praise him even he

exhibits good behavior. According to Waterson (2000), children progress better when adults

praise them for their good behavior, take interest and involved in what they do, allow

children to have their own choices as well as aware of their emotional reactions to stress and

their needs. Waterson (2000) stressed that children always respond to parental reaction.

Hence, it is crucial for parents and teachers to take part in childrens activities.

Socialization behavior of the children. Throughout the observation, I found that

Julian seldom interacts and socializes with other children at school. He tends to play alone

than playing in groups. According to the teacher, Julian tends to be emotional and moody

when he first came to school, he seldom mix with peers and join in other childrens play.

According to Bronfenbrenner (1979), he stressed that the interactions between children and

their families are the focus of human development. By strengthening the quality as well as the

quantity of relationships, the functioning of a child and his or her family can be enhanced

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). When children feel loved and have more interactions with their


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Case Study 13

families, they tends to socialize more with others, for example, teachers, peers as well as the

community. In this case, Julian did not expose to the environment where he can actually

connect and interact with his parents. It is most probably due to the divorcement of his

parents.

In contrast, Hunson tends to interact and socialize with peers more as compared to

Julian. According to the teacher, Hunson prefers to play in groups than playing alone.

Throughout the observation, I found that Hunson always involves in other childrens play and

he talks to teacher more frequently. I observed that there is a strong attachment between

Hunson and his teacher. Hunson likes to stay closer to his teacher and he often plays with his

teacher. Hence, it could not be denied that parents and teachers as the primary care givers

have greatest influence on the socialization practices of a child.

Conclusions

In conclusion, parents and teachers play important and crucial role in shaping young

childrens behavior.Parents and teachers should guide the behavior of young children by

expecting cooperation from children as well as mutual respecting between one another

(Harrelson, 2009). Hence, by providing effective and positive discipline for children, they

will eventually learn to respect others, learn to take on their responsibility and learn to make

positive choices (Harrelson, 2009). Thus, children can develop positive and appropriate

behavior with the guidance from positive adults. It is important that parents and teachers

understand what children need. It is not the children we need to change, but it is the

inappropriate and undesired behavior that we are going to change and thus, support the good

behavior (Harrelson, 2009). As an adult, we need to let children to understand and know what

behaviors are unacceptable and why they are unacceptable. However, this does not mean that

the child is not being loved. We can positively punish the child if he or she exhibits an


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Case Study 14

inappropriate behavior, but we should not hurt their heart. Parents and teachers must always

bear in mind that the only purpose of punishing the child is to correct him or her from that

undesired behavior so it would not occur again in the future. In a nutshell, childrens

behaviors are affected by parental behavior, they are like a piece of blank paper and adults

are the one who write on them.


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Case Study 15

References

National Healthy Start Association. (n. d.). The Social Emotional Development of Young

Children. Retrieved from

http://www.nationalhealthystart.org/site/assets/docs/NHSA_SocialEmotional_2.pdf

American Humane Association. (2013). Child Discipline. Retrieved from

http://www.americanhumane.org/children/stop-child-abuse/fact-sheets/child

discipline.html

Perrino, Ralph G. (2011). The Socialization Process and Its Impact on Children and

Learning.Retrieved fromhttp://www.nvtutoring.com/pdfs/Socialization.pdf

Gay, L. R., & Airasian, P. (2000).Educational research: Competencies for analysis and

application (6thEd.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Saudino, Kimberly J. (2005).Behavioral Genetics and Child Temperament. Retrieved from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188235/pdf/nihms2462.pdf

McLeod, S. A. (2011).Bandura - Social Learning Theory.Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

McLeod, S. A. (2008).Erik Erikson.Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

McLeod, S. A. (2011).Kohlberg.Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

Waterson, Tony. (2000). Giving guidance on child discipline. Retrieved from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117468/
http://www.nationalhealthystart.org/site/assets/docs/NHSA_SocialEmotional_2.pdfhttp://www.americanhumane.org/children/stop-child-abuse/fact-sheets/childhttp://www.nvtutoring.com/pdfs/Socialization.pdfhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188235/pdf/nihms2462.pdfhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188235/pdf/nihms2462.pdfhttp://www.nvtutoring.com/pdfs/Socialization.pdfhttp://www.americanhumane.org/children/stop-child-abuse/fact-sheets/childhttp://www.nationalhealthystart.org/site/assets/docs/NHSA_SocialEmotional_2.pdf


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Case Study 16

Snyder, Aria, & Bub, Samantha. (n. d.).Discipline and Intergenerational Transmission.

Retrieved from

http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/rs/2008/19discipline%20for%20publication.pdf

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Skinner - Operant Conditioning.Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge,

Mass: Harvard University Press.

Harrelson, Peggy O. (2009). Guiding the Behaviour of Young Children. Retrieved from

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-020/350-020_pdf.pdf

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