Improving Emotional Competence Through Mediated Reading: Short Term Effects of a Children's Literature Program

Abstract

We synthesize three theoretical strands related to early childhood education: Vygotsky's ideas on development, the construct of emotional competence, and the tradition of adult-mediated reading. We designed and implemented an early intervention program to encourage children's emotional competence through adult-mediated reading of children's literature. Ninety-two children (6–8 years old) participated and were divided into three groups. We implemented a pre–post quasi-experimental design with two quasi-control groups. We measured facial emotion recognition, empathy, and emotional lability as dependent variables. Results indicate that the experimental group scored the best in all dimensions. We conclude with encouraging children's emotional competence through formal education.