Toddlers’ social competence, play, movement skills and well-being: an analysis of their relationship based on authentic assessment in kindergarten

Author
Giske R., Ugelstad I. B., Meland A. T., Kaltvedt E. H., Eikeland S., Tønnesen F. E., Reikerås E. K. L.
Source
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 26(3):362-374.
Year
2018

Purpose

This article investigated the relationship between toddler’s well-being, play, socio-emotional competence and movement skills. Two hypotheses were presented: (1) There is a significant and positive correlation between well-being, play, socio-emotional competence and movement skills, and (2) The well-being of toddlers can be predicted based on their play, socio-emotional competence and movement skills. 

Result

The results could confirm the first hypothesis and partly confirm the second as being true. A strong positive correlation between socio-emotional competence, play and well-being seemed to reflect how complex these variables were. Observed play was also considered important in the assessment of toddlers’ socio-emotional competence and well-being. In total, 73% of the variance in well-being could be explained by the predictor variables play and socio-emotional competence, while movement skills did not emerge as a unique predictor. This may indicate that toddlers’ well-being is primarily dependent on kindergarten teachers’ observation of children’s play and socio-emotional competence. 

Design

This study was part of the Stavanger Project - The Learning Child, which is a longitudinal, interdisciplinary and collaborative study between the University of Stavanger and Stavanger Municipality. The participants in the study were children born between 1 July 2005 and 31 December 2007 from 84 different kindergartens. A total of 1084 children were included in the study. The observation tools ‘ALLIN’ and ‘Early Years Movement Skills Checklist’ were used to assess children’s social and movement skills. The children were observed over a period of three months to ensure variation in situations and events.  

References

Giske, R., Ugelstad, I. B., Meland, A. T., Kaltvedt, E. H., Eikeland, S., Tønnesen, F. E. & Reikerås, E. K. L. (2018). «Toddlers’ social competence, play, movement skills and well-being: an analysis of their relationship based on authentic assessment in kindergarten». European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 26(3):362-374.