Abstract:

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) preparation programme at Levinsky College of Education is based on an emergent curriculum approach that emphasizes listening to children’s interests, choices and ideas. The learning process is based on mutual cooperation between student teachers and children in small heterogeneous fixed groups, as the discourse is being moderated by student teachers. The programme emphasizes deep acquaintance of the student teachers with each individual child in order to promote social - emotional skills and inclusion (Tal, 2014, 2019). A socio-emotional inclusion approach is defined as one that is creating conditions for children’s clear expression of their feelings, empathy with others, of finding solutions to various conflicts independently, of mediating among their peers and helping one another. In addition, children are encouraged to initiate and lead various social activities in the kindergarten, and accept and collaborate with other children.

In the present study we will examine the various strategies utilized by students’ teachers to promote emotional, social and cognitive skills in the small heterogenous group. The aim of the study is to characterize the students’ teachers behaviors that aim to promote the learning and the inclusion of the children in the small group.

The current study is a qualitative study. Participants in this study were 60 student teachers in their third year studies (2015-2016). They conducted small group learning encounters with 4-5 children that were audio and video recorded and later transcribed and analyzed and reflected on by the student teachers in personal blogs. All data were analyzed by categorical content analysis, according to grounded theory (Charmaz, 2012; Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

Data analysis showed that the learning processes in small groups gave rise to a wide range of strategies which were implemented by the student teachers. These strategies focused on cultivating children’s social-emotional skills during the learning process. This analysis led to three central themes: employment of classroom management strategies, emphasis of social-emotional aspects, and emphasis of pedagogical aspects. These were then divided into subcategories. The main strategies which the students used were: individual encounters, social mediation, emotional mediation, empowerment and emphasis of the children’s strengths and encouragement of social inclusion.

The study findings emphasize the significance of adult mediation of children’s social encounters in order to cultivate social emotional skills during learning in small groups . The discourse in the small group allowed students’ teachers to pay attention to the uniqueness of each child and to understand the children’s needs. Furthermore, to adapt the learning process to children's abilities and necessities.

The children developed social communication skills that have been implemented in everyday life in preschools.

Keywords:

Preschool, small group, inclusion, social-emotional mediation, Student teachers'.