Promoting learning during toddlers’ peer conflicts: teachers’ perspectives

Abstract

Toddlers’ peer conflicts offer meaningful opportunities for toddlers to learn social-emotional skills, including learning to understand another’s perspective and learning how to regulate emotions. This study explored 31 teachers’ self-reports of their roles, teaching practices and the conditions that influenced their pedagogical responses to toddlers’ peer conflicts, within the contexts of four early childhood education services in Aotearoa New Zealand. In a mixed-methods study design, data were gathered through focus group interviews and a web-based questionnaire, and analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Teachers saw their key teaching roles as: protecting toddlers, physically and emotionally; advocating for toddlers without prejudicial judgement; and role modelling and coaching social-emotional skills. Teachers described using an array of practices intended to empower toddlers to learn and reported that professional decisions regarding if, when and how to intervene in toddlers’ peer conflicts were guided by their knowledge of, and relationships with, the toddlers involved, and by concerns for toddlers’ physical and emotional safety. Findings highlight key practices and considerations for teachers who would like to promote learning for toddlers in the context of peer conflicts.

Keywords:

• Toddlers
• peer conflicts
• social-emotional
• early childhood education
• New Zealand