Emotional scaffolding in early childhood education

ABSTRACT

Emotions can either help or hinder students’ learning. This is especially true in early childhood education. This article analyzes data on how two early childhood teachers account for students’ emotions in their teaching, a process we call “emotional scaffolding.” These teachers use emotional scaffolding for three main instructional purposes: 1) to create an emotional climate in their classrooms; 2) to manage students’ excitement levels; and 3) to maintain students’ interest in classroom learning. This article differentiates emotional scaffolding within instruction in early childhood education from other uses of the label found in the literature. Lastly, the article suggests a framework for researchers to use to analyze emotional scaffolding in early childhood classrooms.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional scaffolding
• emotions in teaching
• early childhood education
• scaffolding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mi-Hwa Park

Dr. Mi-Hwa Park works as an assistant professor at Murray State University.  Her research has been recently published in Multicultural Education and the Journal of Early Childhood Research.

Ashwini Tiwari

Dr. Ashwini Tiwari works as an assistant professor at the University of Houston - Downtown.  His research has been recently published in Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin and the International Journal of Educational Reform.

Jacob W Neumann

Dr. Jacob W Neumann works as an associate professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  His research has been recently published in Phi Delta Kappan and Teachers College Record.