Literature Review Of Social-Emotional Competence: Approach To Professional Standards Of Preschool Te...

LITERATURE REVIEW OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OF PRESCHOOL TEACHERS Tran Thanh Nam, Nguyen Thieu Da Huong (Faculty of Educational Sciences, VNU University of Education) Abstracts Social emotional competence of preschool teachers is still a new concept for Vietnamese researchers The purpose of this article is to introduce an overview of research on social emotional competence of preschool teachers by collecting and systematizing research evidence on the influ[.]

APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OF PRESCHOOL TEACHERS

Tran Thanh Nam, Nguyen Thieu Da Huong

(Faculty of Educational Sciences, VNU University of Education)

Abstracts: Social-emotional competence of preschool teachers is still a new concept for Vietnamese

researchers The purpose of this article is to introduce an overview of research on social-emotional competence

of preschool teachers by collecting and systematizing research evidence on the influence of social-emotional competence of preschool teachers and preschool children as well as this capacity building measure from 29 typical studies can be found in databases and search engines to find relevant studies Research results show that teachers’ social-emotional competence has recently been recognized as an indicator of quality assessment of Early Childhood Education (ECE) staff; its importance affects the mental health and love of the job of the preschool teacher as well as the relationship between the teacher and the stakeholders; Some measures to improve this capacity for preschool teachers should be based on national efforts to strengthen and maintain a high-quality preschool workforce This result is the basis for proposing to recognize the social-emotional competence of preschool teachers in the Professional Standards and become an important educational content of the training program from the perspective of capacity-building for Early Childhood Education teachers in Vietnam.

Keywords: competence, social-emotional competence, preschool teacher, Early Childhood Education

1 INTRODUCTION

The “Happy School” model in Vietnam is inspired by the “Happy School” model of UNESCO, which has become the movement “Implement the plan to improve the pedagogical and ethical behavior

of teachers for a happy environment” (April 22, 2019) to spread the values of love, safety and respect in schools Happy schools need to start with the teacher, so many studies have emphasized the importance

of supporting teacher happiness

According to Jennings et al (2019, p.186) “Teacher stress is at an all-time high and negatively impacting educational quality and student outcomes” Oliveira, S (2021) emphasizes that teaching is one of the most emotionally demanding jobs, affecting teachers’ personal lives and work performance Research by Buettner et al (2016) indicates that the psychological burden of teachers (including depression, stress and emotional exhaustion) is related to the negative responses of preschool teachers

to children Therefore, identifying the occupational characteristics of preschool teachers is intended

to assist them in coping with their own emotions and promote positive relationships between teachers and stakeholders (children, children’s parents, colleagues, administrators) is very suitable for the development of students and professional happiness of teachers In this regard, there are many studies have emphasized the central role of teachers’ social-emotional competence (Jennings et al., 2009)

As instructional stressors are primarily emotional and social, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions aimed at teachers have increased rapidly in recent years According to the Collaborative Organization for Learning in School Culture, Social and Emotional Subjects (CASEL, 2003), social-emotional competence (SEC) is a set of competencies that help people know how to deal with themselves, with others, with relationships, and function effectively In 2013, this organization proposed social–emotional learning (SEL) as a process through which children and adults effectively acquire and apply knowledge, attitudes, and attitudes the skills and attitudes necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and implement positive goals, empathize with and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, responsible decision making

Since 2004, Illion was the first state in the United States to create a framework for the social-emotional learning (SEL) program, also known as social-social-emotional education including goals, academic standards, and benchmarks for high school students By 2013, the state had revised its framework to apply social-emotional education curricula not only in schools but also in preschools Currently, all preschools in the United States have developed social-emotional competency standards for both teachers and young children Content on social-emotional learning SEL has been widely developed not only in the US but almost all EU countries, in Australia, New Zeland and some developed countries in the Asia Pacific Therefore, social-emotional competence (SEC) is considered an important criterion to evaluate the competence of a teacher, including preschool teachers

Regarding the social-emotional competence (SEC) of teachers, Maurice J Elias (2009) said that

to become a qualified teacher of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) means that they not only have skills but also self-awareness and management; perceive and manage relationships with others If teachers feel confident with their emotional skills, they will better recognize and understand students’ emotions and their role in student behavior (Huynh V.S, Nguyen T.T, 2019, p 4-5)

In the world, since 2009, there have been many studies on social-emotional competence (SEC), but for Vietnam, this issue is still new and has received little attention Some studies can be mentioned

by Le M.D (2015), Tran T.T.A & Nguyen P.C.T (2016), Tran T.T.A & Trinh T.T (2017), Huynh V.S

& Nguyen T.T (2019), Giang Thien Vu (2021) focusing on the social-emotional competence of high school students The authors all affirmed that it is necessary to invest in research on social-emotional competence and organize activities to develop social-emotional competence for primary school students and adolescents

In the research conducted in 2019, the authors Huynh V.S and Nguyen T.T surveyed on the current situation of applying the SEL social-emotional competence education model of teachers to lower secondary education activities In Ho Chi Minh City, the results were only average, significantly affecting the social-emotional competence of junior high school students Therefore, teachers need to be facilitated to approach, research, understand and apply the SEL model of social-emotional competence education in educational activities at school in order to enhance social-emotional competence of children and also their own

Studies on the SEC of preschool teachers in Vietnam, with Phan T.T.H (2020) surveyed over 35 preschool teachers at a local preschool, showed that the awareness of the SEC’s emotional and social competence of preschool teachers is still at a low level, many teachers still have difficulty in understanding and self-training this important competency In addition, Nguyen T.D.H (2021) investigated the cognitive status of social-emotional competence (SEC) of 25 preschool administrators working in some cities in Vietnam The whole cities show that for managers, they want to be able to coordinate with

higher management levels to carry out this capacity-building activity for Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers extensively and synchronously

Regarding the concept of social-emotional competence of preschool teachers, Phan T.T.H.(2020)

and Nguyen T.D.H (2021) propose the following understanding: The social-emotional competence of preschool teachers is an individual attribute of each preschool teacher in order to demonstrate the ability to be more aware of their own emotions, know how to create a harmonious relationship with children and others, make informed, responsible decisions and effectively address issues relevant to the preschool educational environment.

In addition, according to Tran T.T.A & Trinh T.T (2017) can synthesize studies on social-emotional competence into three main groups, which are: (1) Life skills; (2) Emotional Intelligence (Emotional Intelligence); and (3) Social-Emotional Learning (Social-Emotional Learning, SEL) This is a suggestion for learning about the related factors and measures to affect the social-emotional competence (SEC) of preschool teacher

Thus, in Vietnam, up to the present time, the social-emotional competence (SEC) of a preschool teacher is still a new issue that has not yet been explored This article focuses on reviewing previous studies on social-emotional competence (SEC) of a preschool teacher from the perspective of Occupational Standards to clarify the influence of social-emotional competence (SEC) of the teachers Early Childhood Education for the profession, the core elements of the social-emotional competence of ECE, and some measures that can improve this capacity for ECE staff

2 RESEARCH METHODS

The author has used secondary data, and groups of theoretical research methods including analytical method - theoretical synthesis, classification method - theoretical systematization to collect information from documents related to the research topic

First, secondary data is collected from articles, reports, and scientific works published in prestigious

domestic and foreign journals such as International Journal of Public Sector, Public Administration Review, Advance in Developing Human Resources, Education Magazine, Vietnam Educational Science magazine aims to build a theoretical framework on social-emotional competence of preschool teachers in countries in the region and around the world The author used the database, and search tools of PsychLIT, ERIC, ASSIA, Sociofile, the Social Science Citation Index, Psychology Articles, Google Scholar… to find related studies The reason the author chooses these databases is that they are highly academic databases, showing the richness and diversity of fields that can be related to the issue of emotional competence – early childhood teachers’ social studies such as psychology, education, communication, and social sciences in general… Articles and research were limited to 15 years (since 2006) back in time The language to use for the search is English The keyword used to search is

“preschool teachers’ social-emotional competence” which is limited to display in the title of the article

By July 20, 2021, the initial search yielded 137 results, after checking the names and excluding duplicate articles by searching using different databases, there were 109 articles left Next, the author skimmed the abstract to select articles that satisfy the following conditions:

(a) Indicate the frequency of occurrence of “social-emotional competence of preschool teachers” and related factors;

(b) Is basic, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed researchs

(c) Exclude introductory, critical, or summative article studies related to “social-emotional competence of preschool teachers”

In the end, only 29 articles satisfying the stated conditions were used to synthesize information for this article

Second, the secondary data source is collected through legal documents including Government

decrees and circulars of the Ministry of Education and Training such as Preschool Teacher Professional Standards 2018, Circular 01 /2021/TT-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training on professional title standards as well as references from the Southeast Asian preschool teacher’s competency framework proposed by SEAMEO

Figure 1: Screening process of studies used in the literature review

3 RESEARCH RESULTS

3.1 Comparing the social-emotional competence of preschool teachers with the Teacher’s Professional Standards

The goal of improving teacher quality, output quality and school quality has become the top policy of politicians, since then many reports on teaching, pedagogical training and profession have been published Therefore, standards have become an indispensable requirement for standards-based educational programs to evaluate all aspects of a teacher’s needs To help learners have the opportunity

to integrate into the economy and society of the 21st century, the development and development of standards of teaching competence of teachers becomes an extremely important task in the education system worldwide In general, the competency standards of teachers and preschool teachers in particular

of many countries in the world share the same opinion: professional standards come from competency standards The trend is becoming more and more compact, covering the following directions: standards, short criteria, but indicators or indicators can be many Grade and grade of the standard according to the level of competence that can be achieved by the teacher

Currently, teacher training programs in the United States and many developed countries around the world prepare teacher candidates to promote their own and their students’ social-emotional competencies Schonert-Reichl, 2017) According to the assessment of Buettner et al (2016), although indicators of curriculum structure and quality of classroom process have been widely explored, teachers’ social-emotional competence recently recognized as an indicator of quality This suggests that there exist correlations between teachers’ social-emotional competence and their professional commitment and responsiveness to the Professional Standards

The excellent early childhood teacher professional development requirements proposed by the National Council on Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in the United States also outline a blueprint for teachers’ professional standards good preschools in other countries Specifically, reference

to the vocational standards of teachers and teachers of some EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and developed countries in Asia shows that the competency framework of preschool teachers is oriented towards common characteristics and attributes outlined in the teaching profession with a preschool teacher including the necessary knowledge and skills with specialized specificity For example, the Singapore Institute of Education observes: 21st century learners need 21st century teachers who not only possess the literacy of the 21st century, but also can to create a learning environment that allows students develop 21st century skills Therefore, Singapore teachers need to be adaptable, willing

to learn, and confidently deal with problems with no obvious solutions They need to work effectively with people of different races and nationalities and be able to communicate effectively Similarly, refer

to the competency framework of Southeast Asian Early Childhood Teachers teachers proposed by SEAMEO (2017), including seven focus groups of competencies and twelve values that create solid beliefs and skills for decision-making and action in daily work Besides in Vietnam, when compared with the Professional Standards of Early Childhood Teachers (Ministry of Education and Training, 2018) and Regulations on Standards of Professional Titles (Ministry of Education and Training, 2021),

it shows that there are strict requirements for ECE teachers in terms of ability to manage emotions and regulate social relationships Therefore, it can be seen that there is an urgent need to study the social-emotional competence framework suitable for preschool teachers and the specificities in improving the social-emotional competence of this subject in the future

3.2 Literature review of preschool teachers’ social-emotional competence

3.2.1 The influence of preschool teachers’ social-emotional competence on professional development

Table 1 Evidence on the influence of preschool teachers’ social-emotional competence

on career development from the reviewed studies

1 Impact on

mental health

of preschool

teachers

The relationship between the social-emotional competence (SEC)

Despite working in individual classrooms, early childhood teachers share a central level perception of the work environment, access to support, psychological health, and job satisfaction.

(Zinsser, Christensen, and Torres 2016)

Teachers’ psychological burden (depression, stress, and emotional burnout) is associated with teachers’ negative responses to children.

(Buettner et al 2016)

For teachers, social-emotional helps teachers have a more optimistic spirit in creating friendly relationships with students, reducing stress and controlling anger, and regulating emotions

(Huynh V.S & Nguyen T.T 2018)

Higher levels of teacher burnout were associated with students receiving lower social-emotional competence (SEC) ratings

Students notice stress in their classroom teacher.

(Oberle et al 2020)

This is the key to both the professional health of teachers and the

The main stressors in teaching are related to social-emotional

2 Influence

on the love

of preschool

teachers

When engaged in social-emotional learning (SEL), teachers are less depressed, more satisfied with their work, feel more supported in managing challenging behavior, and view the work environment at their center as more active.

(Zinsser et al 2016)

Correlations between teachers’ SEC and professional commitment

Teachers’ satisfaction or displeasure with the social support

Supporting the health of preschool teachers is essential to sustaining the workforce and fostering the quality educators-child relationships that are central to young children’s learning and development.

(Patricia Eadie et al 2021)

3 Affect the

quality of the

relationship

between

preschool

teachers and

stakeholders

(children,

parents,

colleagues,

managers)

Early childhood teachers develop their own emotional socialization skills so that they can be more effective emotional socialization agents for the children in their care.

(Morris et al 2013)

The student’s home environment; Psychological characteristics of students; Teacher-student relationship; The surrounding community environment are factors affecting the social - emotional skills of primary school students.

(Le T.M.D, 2015)

Teachers’ ability to cope (emotional reevaluation and problem-focused coping strategies) is related to their positive responses to children’s negative emotions.

(Buettner et al 2016)

Teachers’ perceptions of emotional intelligence (EQ) and social-emotional learning (SEL) were not associated with students’

emotional and behavioral difficulties, while teacher-teacher conflict and students mainly related to these difficulties

(Poulou 2017)

Teacher stress is at an all-time high, negatively impacting the quality of

Teachers’ social-emotional competence is considered important for mastering the social and emotional challenges inherent in their profession and for building positive teacher-student relationships.

(Aldrup et al 2020)

4 Influence

on the

organization

and

management

of preschool

classrooms

Early childhood teachers act as emotional socializing agents for the children in their care by modeling emotions, responding in a supportive

or stern manner to children’s emotional expressions, and engaging in engage in direct instruction about emotional experience.

Explaining and questioning occur during teacher-led activities when children are compliant in activities during free play and when children act aggressively.

(Morris et al 2013) (Yelinek and Grady 2019)but not much work has shown how teachers talk about emotions in the classroom We re-corded preschool teach-ers’ (N = 13

5 Affects the

development

of emotional

and social

skills for

preschool

children

Potential future interventions are designed to assist teachers in developing their emotional socialization skills so that they can become more effective emotional socialization agents for the children in their care.

(Morris et al 2013)

Preschool teachers’ ability to cope (emotional reevaluation and problem-focused coping strategies) is related to their positive responses to children’s negative emotions.

(Buettner et al 2016)

Test teacher and students’ perceptions of behavioral difficulties,

A student’s social-emotional learning (SEL) process does not develop spontaneously One of the factors that have an important influence on students is the teacher.

(Huynh V.S & Nguyen T.T 2018)

Based on an overview of empirical studies on the social-emotional competence (SEC) of preschool teachers, it can be seen that the teacher’s SEC plays an important role in their professional performance The studies of the authors listed above all show that social interaction between preschool teachers and children and the quality of their relationships is very important for cognitive, social and motivational development Young children’s affection for preschool teachers especially because teachers are interested in working in the field of early childhood education will have a positive impact on the emotional development of young children (Denham, Bassett, and Miller 2017) Furthermore, according

to Schonert-Reichl (2017), classroom stress is highly contagious Simply put, stressed teachers often have stressed students However, Aldrup et al (2020) observed: when students do not follow the rules, make noise and disturb the teaching, lose focus or focus, teachers often experience negative emotions and struggle to maintain a positive relationship with them In the long run, teachers’ feelings of anger or anxiety and their inability to interact or build connections with students effectively are associated with lower and lower levels of career happiness Furthermore, this group of authors asserts: teachers who feel emotionally drained are perceived to be less sensitive and less supportive in their interactions with students and, therefore, their classes are less motivated less power and performance

In studies on SEC emotional competence of preschool teacher, there are authors Jennings Patricia

A (2009, 2019), Zinsser Katherine M (2015, 2016), Schonert-Reichl & Kimberly A (2017a, 2017b)

as well as CASEL (2003, 2013) have paid much attention to many related publications With more and more researches on this topic published in the last 5 years, it shows that learning about preschool teacher’s social-emotional competence has scientific and practical significance

3.2.2 Core component structure social-emotional competence of preschool teachers

In order to develop social-emotional competence, CASEL (2013) has proposed the social and emotional learning (SEL) program focusing on developing social-emotional competencies for students

of different ages The content and methods of implementing SEL programs are diverse and rich based

on different models Among them is the model proposed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) This model includes five core components: Awareness, Self-Management (emotions, behaviors), Social Awareness, Social Relations, and Responsible Decision Making These components are cognitive, emotional and behavioral, and they have a dialectical relationship with each other However, in the process of conducting a review of studies on the social-emotional competence of preschool teachers, it was found that the authors had different views on the core component of this competency at the school level preschool teachers are shown in Table 2 below

Table 2: Evidence on core component structure of preschool teachers’ social-emotional

competence according to previous studies

1 a Psychological load

b The ability to cope

The study examined and identified indicators

of teachers’ social-emotional competence and established a two-factor structure, psychological load and coping ability.

(Buettner et al 2016)

2 a Emotional intensity

b The ability to

regulate emotions

Teachers’ social-emotional competence was assessed through measures of emotional intensity and emotional adjustment.

(Fiorilli et al 2016)

3 a Emotion management skills

b Ability to cope with

work pressure

A greater sense of the source of work and control over work is significantly associated with positive emotional expression, random responses, and attitudes toward teaching children about emotions,

as shown by early childhood teachers certified in preschool establishments; in contrast, a greater sense of job demand was significantly associated with teachers’ ability to express negative emotions

(Specifically, teachers’ feelings about work source, African-American ethnicity, and education/

experience level)

(Denham, Bassett, and Miller 2017)

4 a Emotion regulation skills

b Relationship

management skills

Can assist in the distinction between two aspects

of social-emotional competence: Emotional regulation skills and Relationship management skills in emotionally and socially challenging situations with students born.

(Aldrup et al 2020)

Although there are many different views on the core components of the social-emotional competence

of preschool teachers, according to the author, there are two basic elements: Emotional management skills and social relations skills The above views can be considered as suggestions on relevant elements

to build a framework of social-emotional competence of preschool teachers for further research

3.3 Measures to improve the social-emotional competence of preschool teachers

According to Schonert-Reichl et al (2017), how to improve the social-emotional capacity (SEC)

of teachers because this is a profession with many limitations on social welfare is a question It needs the attention of the whole society From the above analysis, it can be seen that supporting preschool teachers in fostering to improve their social-emotional capacity (SEC) is very necessary and has

long-term meaning for the preschool teachers themselves and the whole society This support should be based

on national efforts to strengthen and maintain a high-quality preschool workforce that can integrate into the global labor market Therefore, measures to improve the social-emotional competence of preschool teachers have attracted the attention of many researchers

Table 3 Evidence of measures to improve social-emotional competence of preschool teachers made

1 Having the policy to

recognize the

social-emotional competence

(SEC) of preschool

teachers in the ECE

training program and

develop professional

standards

2013) Recommend further studies to identify components of training and

professional development programs that can address preschool teachers’ psychological difficulties and coping strategies.

(Buettner et

al 2016)

Emphasize the importance of teacher training in helping teachers develop personal and professional skills.

(Poulou 2017) Consider the extent to which the USA teacher education programs

prepare teacher candidates to promote their own and their students’

social-emotional (SEC) competencies To reach students, teach teachers about teacher preparation and social learning (SEL)

(Schonert-Reichl et al 2017)

It is necessary to have supportive policies in terms of time, program, etc so that teachers can implement the application of the SEL model of social-emotional competence education for students in specific educational activities.

(Huynh V.S

& Nguyen T.T 2018)

2 Develop a plan to

foster social-emotional

competence for

preschool teachers

Illuminates ways in which in-service training and intervention programs can be developed to help preschool teachers better meet children’s social-emotional education (SEL) needs.

(Zinsser et al 2015)

Childcare programs may also need efforts to support teachers’

social-emotional competencies as a way to improve teachers’

responsiveness and professional commitment.

(Buettner et

al 2016)

Improving teachers’ social-emotional competence and stress management in schools through the Social – Emotional Learning (SEL) program for teachers

(Schonert-Reichl 2017)

Refer to an intervention program to improve the social-emotional health of young children through the enhancement of the social-emotional competence of kindergarten teachers and a specially designed curriculum, at a metropolitan city in East Asia.

(Lam and Wong 2017)

Teachers need to be facilitated to approach, research, understand and apply the SEL social-emotional competence education model

to educational activities at school.

(Huynh V.S

& Nguyen T.T 2018) Teachers need to be facilitated to approach, research, understand

and apply the SEL social-emotional competence education model

to educational activities at school.

(Oliveira et

al 2021)

3 Collaborate with

experts and consultants

to train and foster

the social-emotional

competence of preschool

teachers

The pro-social classroom model highlights the importance of social-emotional competence (SEC) and teacher well-being through stress reduction and mindfulness programs.

(Jennings et

al 2009)

Check out the intervention program to improve the social-emotional health of young children through preschool teachers’ social-emotional competence (SEC) and a specially designed curriculum ,

in a metropolitan city in the East Asian region

(Lam và Wong, 2017)

The findings add to growing empirical evidence on the impact of these interventions and contribute to the development of guidelines for the design of effective SEL interventions for teachers

(Oliveira et

al n.d.)

Use of early childhood teachers’ emotional socialization through a multi-method study combining self-report measures and structured observational situations in a daycare center.

(Ornaghi et

al 2021)

4 Organize preschool

teachers to self-practice

social-emotional

competence with some

practical exercises

Teachers self-completed reports on demographics, stress levels, and approval of socialization of emotional techniques.

(Denham et

al 2017)

al 2019)

al 2017) Practice emotional socialization Complete a questionnaire about

their emotional socialization style and emotional beliefs

(Ornaghi et

al 2021)

5 Having appropriate

regimes and policies

for preschool teachers

(salaries, bonuses,

benefits, etc.)

The findings showed a relationship between emotional intensity and satisfaction with the social support they received.

(Fiorilli et al 2016) The importance of the welfare of preschool teachers has been

highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as educators have identified many other stressors while providing care and education services to children as well as ongoing support for many others learning at home Identifying strategies to support and sustain the well-being of early childhood teachers is particularly important as

a response to a global pandemic and provides lessons for both common practice and critical future contexts.

(Patricia Eadie et al 2021)

It has been proven that it is possible to improve the social-emotional competence (SEC) and stress management of teachers in schools through the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program for preschool teachers Thus, in order to develop social-emotional competence (SEC) of preschool teachers, the measure that needs to be taken soon is to include social-emotional competence education (SEL) in the teacher training program as follows: a strategy to improve the quality of staff and teachers to meet professional standards In addition, it is necessary to design a social-emotional competence education program (SEL) for preschool teachers by the needs and practical conditions with the participation of a team of experts and educators Futhermore, it is necessary to create an environment that helps preschool teachers have the opportunity to apply and practice skills to develop social-emotional competence (SEC) regularly based on self-assessment and experience With the efforts of the whole society in helping preschool