Young children’s perspectives on their social interactions within early childhood settings

ABSTRACT

This paper presents findings from mixed-method research exploring 3–5-year-old children’s social interaction experiences while attending one of three different early childhood settings: a therapeutic family support program; a supported playgroup; or a preschool. Thematic analysis of child interviews revealed differences in how children experienced peers, parents and staff depending on the setting, potentially reflecting differences in the composition and goals of the programs and the quality of the children’s peer interactions. Quantitative results suggested preschool children were more advanced in their social development than family support program and supported playgroup children. The parent–child attachment relationship, opportunities to practise appropriate social skills, language ability, and staff qualifications may also be influencing factors in child experiences of peer interaction. This research contributes to literature on how young children experience service environments and the need to respect children as important stakeholders whose perspectives can inform and support the programs they attend.

KEYWORDS:

• Social interactions
• early childhood settings
• child voice
• family support programs
• participation

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the children who participated in this research, the children’s parents for their support, and the program staff who welcomed us into their program. Thank you also to the first author’s doctoral supervision team, Dr Rebekah Grace, Dr Anne McMaugh, Dr Frances Gibson, and Professor Jennifer Bowes.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Rotary Health Research Companion Terry Beslich PhD Scholarship provided by Australian Rotary Health and the Children and Families Research Centre, Macquarie University, Australia.

Notes on contributors

Kelly Baird

Kelly Baird is an Associate Research Fellow in the Centre for Translational Research and Social Innovation in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She has a particular research interest in addressing the service and support needs of those within our communities who are most vulnerable, and is a passionate advocate of child voice research and the use of participatory research methods.

Rebekah Grace

Rebekah Grace is the Director, Transforming Early Education and Child Health at Western Sydney University. Her research work has spanned the health, psychology and education fields, focusing on understanding and addressing the support needs of children and families who are vulnerable. Rebekah’s research is multi-disciplinary in nature and is most often conducted in collaboration with Government and NGO partners to support high quality, evidence-based, service implementation.