The Building Blocks of the ECE: Social-Emotional Development

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At Shanghai Community International School (SCIS), our Early Childhood Programme immerses children in an atmosphere of wonder and growth. We focus on the development of the whole child by providing opportunities for children to learn and practice newly acquired skills.

In one of the four areas taught in Early Childhood Education (ECE), social-emotional development is where children learn the values and behaviors accepted by society, while also becoming competent and confident to succeed in school and life. In our latest #CommunityVoices, we invited Julie Nicol, Kindergarten Teacher at SCIS Hongqiao ECE, to educate us more about the importance and value of social-emotional development in the early years.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Julie Nicol. I’m from Virginia, U.S. And this is my seventh year teaching at SCIS. I was first teaching Pre-Kindergarten for four years, and for the past three years, I’ve been teaching Kindergarten. My background is in Early Childhood Education, that’s what I got my master's degree in, and my teaching license is focused in this area. Outside of work, I love to read, swim, spend time with my cat, hang with my friends, and play piano.

Why did you choose to study Early Childhood Education?

Children are just amazing humans. I really believe in the capacity of young children to do amazing things. I see that every day. I see creativity. I see the curiosity that children have. At this young age, we’re setting them up for success for the rest of their lives. To see them being inspired to learn, and motivated to care for other people, are things that I’m so happy to see daily.

Often people may look at Early Childhood Education (ECE) as a place where they just play, but they are capable people who are able to learn so much, express so much, and question so much. That’s what excites me every day.

What is social-emotional in child development?

When we look at the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the Approaches to Learning (ATL), there are three main things that address social-emotional learning: social skills, communication skills, and self-management skills. I like to look at those three as the development of children.

When we look at social skills, it is how we interact with people, how to share and take turns, how to identify the emotions we’re feeling, how to identify the emotions of other people, and these are taught skills we teach children to learn and to strengthen.

What social-emotional skills do the children learn throughout the ECE?

One of the curriculums we use at the ECE is called Teaching Strategies Gold, and that is what we use to monitor progress in Nursery, Preschool, and Pre-Kindergarten. In terms of social-emotional development, it includes regulating emotions and behaviors, establishing and sustaining positive relationships, and participating cooperatively and constructively in groups.

Because it is a spectrum of development, students work on deepening each of those skills in different ways as they age. For example, Nursery students may respond to others' expressions of wants, while in Pre-School they may begin taking turns. Once in Pre-Kindergarten, they might begin initiating sharing of materials, and in Kindergarten, they move into cooperative group play.

How do teachers help children who struggle in developing these social-emotional skills?

One thing that ECE teachers love here is ‘Play Plans’ - simply, plans for play. This is helpful for children who struggle with forming long friendships over time. A Play Plan can be beneficial in this situation by giving more structure in the day such as selecting one classmate to play with for 10 minutes and switching to another classmate. It is a visual plan to help give the child guidance and focus on improving that specific skill.

How do students at the ECE carry on their skills into the PYP and onwards?

We are still looking at the same skills that would be taught at the Lower School. Social skills, communication skills, and self-management skills all build on each other. If we can help students build and practice their communication skills, such as sharing their opinions and verbally expressing themselves, these are skills students need to use throughout their life. Even as adults, we all work on being active listeners and communicating our ideas clearly.

How can parents help their child’s social-emotional development outside of school?

One thing we often talk about during Parent-Teacher Conferences is the chance for their child to socialize with other children outside of school. It can be going to the compound playground, hanging out with other children of different ages, or setting up playdates with other children. These social settings will give children the opportunity to practice these social-emotional skills more.

Anytime we see a child struggling to interact with other students, not sure how to join games, or having some social-regulation struggles, we often ask parents “how often are they with other children outside of school?”. If they are mostly spending their time with adults, they aren’t getting as much of a chance to practice these skills and put them into place.

SCIS. Holistic Development.

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