Childrens Socio-Emotional Development Promoting School...

CHILDREN’S SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PROMOTING SCHOOL READINESS THROUGH THE PRE-SCHOOL Abstract One of the objectives of preschool education in Nigeria as stated in the National Policy on Education is smooth transition from home to school, that is, school readiness. This involves socio-emotional development in addition to cognitive development. Children whose socio-emotional development is hampered have been reported to be disadvantaged educationally right from elementary school to the later years in career. This paper therefore examined the role of the preschool in making children ready for school through the promotion of their socio-emotional development. Recommendations are also made to policy makers as well as classroom†¦show more content†¦Children who make friends do better in school and enjoy it more (Abell amp; Azria, 2008). Boyd et al (2005) stated that social and emotional development involves the ability to: †¢ identify and understand one’s own feelings, †¢ accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others, †¢ manage strong emotions and their expression in a constructive manner, †¢ regulate one’s own behavior, †¢ develop empathy for others, and †¢ establish and sustain relationships. These skills help promote a range of positive behaviors, beginning before children enter kindergarten and extending into adult life. Expectedly, when social and emotional development is hampered, the result can be problems in school and later life. Teachers find it harder to teach children with social and emotional problems, seeing them as less socially and academically competent and their peers reject them. Such children tend to dislike school and learning, which leads to lower school attendance and poorer outcomes (Raver, 2002; Tremblay et al, 1994). Since difficult behavior starts early, the preschool years are the appropriate period to help children eliminate bad behavioral tendencies. The role of the pre-school According to Boyd et al (2005), preschool programs that maintain high standards of quality provide children with skills that will assist them in their social and academic adjustment to elementary