Preschoolers’ free play - connections with emotional and social functioning

Play has an important role in various aspects of children’s development. However, time for free play has declined substantially over the last decades. To date, few studies have focused on the relationship between opportunities for free play and children’s social functioning. The aims of this study are to examine whether children ́s free play is related to their social functioning and whether this relationship is mediated by children ́s emotional functioning. Seventy-eight children (age, 55- 77 months) were tested on their theory of mind and emotion understanding. Parents reported on their children’s time for free play, empathic abilities, social competence and externalizing behaviors. The main findings showed that free play and children’s theory of mind are negatively related to externalizing behaviors. Empathy was strongly related to children’s social competence, but free play and social competence were not associated. Less time for free play is related to more disruptive behaviors in preschool children, however certain emotional functioning skills influence these behaviors independently of the time children have for free play. These outcomes suggest that free play might help to prevent the development of disruptive behaviors, but future studies should further examine the causality of this relationship.

O apoio pedagógico e educacional a crianças e jovens hospitalizados: A escola nos hospitais

O presente estudo teve como objectivo, partindo de uma análise comparativa entre dois hospitais, descrever e identificar aspectos que pudessem comprovar que as actividades escolares desenvolvidas no contexto hospitalar podem contribuir para amenizar o sofrimento de crianças hospitalizadas assim como contribuem para o seu desenvolvimento integral. As bases de assistência à criança hospitalizada têm vindo a modificar-se nas últimas décadas derivado aos resultados de pesquisas nas áreas das ciências médicas, humanas e sociais. Tendo estas concepções como base, criam-se então, perspectivas de como apoiar melhor a criança no processo de hospitalização que tem de enfrentar, esclarecendo e auxiliando também os profissionais que têm como objectivo primordial o bem-estar da criança, a todos os níveis: físico, pedagógico, social, afectivo e psicológico. A inserção da escola nos hospitais, adequada às necessidades e situação de cada criança, recupera a socialização desta por um processo de inclusão, dando continuidade à sua escolarização e valorizando as suas novas aprendizagens. Para a realização desta investigação, muito contaram as participações, tanto do Instituto de Português de Oncologia de Lisboa, como do Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora, EPE, que me deram acesso aos seus respectivos serviços de Pediatria, assim como permitiram o meu contacto com todos os actores envolvidos. Foi realizada uma análise qualitativa tanto da recolha bibliográfica como das comunicações recolhidas através das entrevistas realizadas e das observações efectuadas nos contextos de pesquisa. Obtive consideráveis informações que me permitiram ratificar a considerável importância e eficácia das actividades pedagógicas e educacionais no desenvolvimento da criança em situação de hospitalização, permitindo assim também amenizar esta fase menos boa da vida destas crianças. ABSTRACT; This study aims to, by way of a comparative analysis between two hospitais, describe and identify aspects that are able to prove that the school activities developed in hospitals can help to ease the suffering of hospitalized children as well as contribute to their full development. Over the last decades, the type of support given to hospitalized children has been changing due to the influence of studies conducted in the medical, human and social sciences fields. With these conceptions as a basis, perspectives have been created regarding how to provide better support to children during their stay at the hospital, clarifying and helping the professionals whose fundamental goal is the child's welfare at all levels: physical, pedagogical, social, emotional and psychological. Within the hospital walls, a classroom suited to the needs and situation of each child greatly benefits their socialization recovery through a process of inclusion, thereby permitting a continuation of the learning process. ln carrying out this research, the participation of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology and of the Évora Hospital was essential, wherein I was granted access to their pediatric services and to all the persons involved in this context. A qualitative analysis was conducted using data extracted from bibliographic research as well as from speeches gathered during interviews performed within the research framework. The substantial amount of information allows me to ratify the considerable importance and success of the pedagogic and educational activities in the development of hospitalized children, allowing, as was said before, to ease this difficult stage of children’s.

Competências sócio-emocionais de crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem: Percepção de pais e professores

Os pais e os professores vivenciam o quotidiano das crianças e constituem-se como observadores significativos (Guaragna e tal., 2005; Pires et al, 2008) e as suas perceções acerca dos filhos e alunos influenciam os comportamentos destes (Zirkel, 2002). Porém, as características das crianças parecem influir na perceção de pais e na perceção de professores (Pires et al., 2008). As crianças com DA apresentam características sócio emocionais próprias: instabilidade emocional, pouca tolerância à frustração (Fonseca, 2008) e dificuldades na interação social (Framer et al., 2008). As competências sociais e emocionais são muito relevantes no processo adaptativo da criança e contribuem para a consecução de objetivos sociais (Candeias, 2008; Anderson-Butcher et al., 2008; Buckley & Saarnni, 2006; Saarni, 2002). Neste contexto, considerando o papel especial dos pais e professores no processo desenvolvimental das crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem (DA), desenvolvemos um estudo que investigou a perceção de 37 pais e 66 professores acerca das competências sócio emocionais de crianças entre os 6 e 11 anos com DA. No estudo foram utilizados o Inventário do Quociente Emocional Bar-On, (EQ-i: Pa, versão original de Bar-On & Parker, 2004) nas suas versões para pais e para professores, e a Prova de Avaliação da Competência Social (PACS-6/11, Candeias et al., 2008; Candeias, 2008b), para avaliar, respetivamente, a perceção sobre a inteligência emocional e sobre a competência social. Os principais resultados sugerem que os pais avaliam mais positivamente as competências emocionais das crianças e que a avaliação das competências sociais dos pais é semelhante à dos docentes /ABSTRACT: Parents and teachers are significant observers and participants in every day’s children's life's and their perceptions about their sons and pupils can influence their on behavior (Zirkel, 2002). However, children’s characteristics can influence parent’s perceptions and teacher’s perceptions (Pires et a/., 2008). Children with learning disabilities (LD) have singular social-emotional characteristics: emotional instability, low tolerance to frustant events (Fonseca, 2008) and difficulties in social interactions (Framer et al., 2008). Social and emotional competences are relevant in children's adaptation process and contribute to the fulfillemente of social goals (Candeias, 2008; Anderson-Butcher et a/., 2008; Buckley & Saarnni, 2006; Saarni, 2002). ln this context, considering teachers’ and parent’s special role throughout the growing process, we developed a study that investigated the perception of 37 parents and 66 teachers about the social-emotional competences of children’s (with ages between 6 and 11 years) with LO. Results suggests that (a) parent’s perception of emotional competence has higher values, (b) there is no significate differences between parents and teacher’s perception about social competence.

Social competence and emotional comprehension: How are they related in children?

The developmental progression of emotional competence in childhood provides a robust evidence for its relation to social competence and important adjustment outcomes. This study aimed to analyze how this association is established in middle childhood. For this purpose, we tested 182 Portuguese children aged between 8 and 11 years, of 3rd and 4th grades, in public schools. Firstly, for assessing social competence we used an instrument directed to children using critical social situations within the relationships with peers in the school context - Socially in Action-Peers (SAp) (Rocha, Candeias & Lopes da Silva, 2012); children were assessed by three sources: themselves, their peers and their teacher. Secondly, we assessed children’s emotional understanding, individually, with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (Pons & Harris, 2002; Pons, Harris & Rosnay, 2004). Relations between social competence levels (in a composite score and using self, peers and teachers’ scores) and emotional comprehension components (comprehension of the recognition of emotions, based on facial expressions; external emotional causes; contribute of desire to emotion; emotions based on belief; memory influence under emotional state evaluation; possibility of emotional regulation; possibility of hiding an emotional state; having mixed emotions; contribution of morality to emotion experience) were investigated by means of two SSA (Similarity Structure Analysis) - a Multidimensional Scaling procedure and the external variable as points technique. In the first structural analysis (SSA) we will consider self, peers and teachers’ scores on Social Competence as content variables and TEC as external variable; in the second SSA we will consider TEC components as content variables and Social Competence in their different levels as external variable. The implications of these MDS procedures in order to better understand how social competence and emotional comprehension are related in children is discussed, as well as the repercussions of these findings for social competence and emotional understanding assessment and intervention in childhood is examined.