Supporting Social Emotional Competence in the Early Years. Implications for Educational Psychologists

Research alludes to the importance of social emotional competence for young children. Given rising rates of social emotional difficulties and concerns about children’s well-being, it is important to look at how children’s social emotional competence is supported. Considered key socialisers for children’s development, early childhood educators play a key role, and research indicates that their beliefs, knowledge, and training serve to influence their practice at the grassroots level. As such, this doctoral thesis aims to address the limited research to date in this area from an educational psychology perspective, and consider the implications for educational psychologists. The first paper of the thesis, a systematic literature review, provides a synthesis of early childhood educators’ understanding of and experiences in supporting children’s social emotional competence in early childhood education and care settings. The second paper, a qualitative empirical study, explores 14 Irish educators’ views of their own role in supporting children’s social emotional competence, and the associated facilitators and barriers, while also considering how educational psychologists might support their work. Reflexive thematic analysis highlighted the significant role educators play in supporting children’s social emotional competence and identified several systemic facilitators and barriers, such as in-house and external support, parental partnerships and the need for increased training and support from educational psychologists. Implications for the role of educational psychologists in supporting early childhood educators in this regard are discussed.