Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University

Research Online Research Online

ECU Publications Pre. 2011

1-1-2010

Complexities of Assessing Social and Emotional Competence and Complexities of Assessing Social and Emotional Competence and

Wellbeing in Young Children Wellbeing in Young Children

Lennie Barblett Edith Cowan University

Carmel Maloney Edith Cowan University

Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks

Part of the Education Commons

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of: Barblett, L. , & Maloney, C. (2010). Complexities of assessing social and emotional competence and wellbeing in young children. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 35(2), 13-18. Available here This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks/6242

THERE IS OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE that growthand development in the social and emotional domainduring the early years affects the health, wellbeingand competence of children throughout life (Denham,2006; Mental Health Taskforce, 2004). Experiences thatpromote curiosity, self-confidence, engagement andsatisfying reciprocal relationships have been stronglylinked to high levels of self-esteem and socialisation.Therefore, the experiences children are exposed tohave the potential to influence their future life trajectorythat over time may become more difficult to modify(Farrar, Goldfield & Moore, 2007). More specifically,research conducted by Denham (2006) outlines theimportance of social and emotional competence toschool readiness, future academic performance, andsuccess in participation and interactions with peersand adults. Support for children's social and emotionalgrowth in early childhood programs is dependent onhow well the teachers know the child and how skilledthey are at gaining meaningful information aboutchildren's social and emotional knowledge, skills anddispositions, and how this information is used to createeffective programs.

Defining termsThere is considerable debate in the literature aboutwhat constitutes 'social and emotional competenceand wellbeing', how it is defined and how it should beassessed. Terms such as social competence, emotionalregulation, emotional literacy, emotional intelligenceand mental health abound in the literature and add tothe difficulty of clearly defining this construct. Workin psychology, health (both mental health and healthpromotions) and education often use different termsto describe similar aspects of social and emotionaldevelopment. While there is variation in the types ofterms used, there is general consensus regarding themajor aspects of early childhood social and emotionaldevelopment and the key achievements in this domain.These are:

"* Emotional competence: defined as 'the ability toeffectively regulate one's emotions to accomplishone's goal' (Squires, Bricker &Twombly, 2003, p.6).

"* Social competence: described as 'the ability tointegrate thinking, feeling and behaving to achieveinterpersonal goals and social outcomes' (MacKay& Keyes, 2002 cited in Kostelnik et al., 2006, p.2).

Volume 35 Number 2 June 2010 a

a Wellbeing: referred to as 'children's physical,social and emotional welfare and development'(Department of Education and Children's Services(DECS), 2005, p.3).

Why is social and emotional competence andwellbeing important?

The empirical research is overwhelming in providingevidence that strong growth in social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing underlies all later growthand development. A number of benefits identified in theliterature highlight the importance of positive growth inthis area. These include:

"* Positive relationships and inclusion: Positiverepresentations of self, emotional knowledgeand regulatory abilities are some of the social andemotional competencies children learn throughpositive early relationships. Research on earlyschooling suggests that children's relationships withteachers and peers are pivotal to school success(Raver & Knitze, 2002; Raver & Zigler, 2004).

"* Foundation for positive mental health: Effectivesocial and emotional competence and positivewellbeing are an important foundation for mentalhealth throughout childhood and into laterlife (Hertzman, 2004; Moore, 2006; Sosna &Mastergeorge, 2005). Effective social skills areattributed to overall happiness, quality of life, goodtreatment and respect from parents, and high self-esteem (Danielson & Phelps, 2003).

"* Early school success: From neurons toneighbourhoods (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000) is onework that highlights the link between emotionaldevelopment and academic learning. There isoverwhelming longitudinal evidence over 20 yearsthat children's early school success is linked to afirm foundation of children's social and emotionalskills (Stipek, 2006; Raver, 2002).

"* Integration of developmental domain: Social andemotional competence and wellbeing is importantboth in its own right and because it affects otherdomains of development, especially languageand communication skills, and early literacy andnumeracy (Cohen et al., 2005). Denham (2006)suggests that social and emotional competencecan be used to benchmark children's progress andprogram effectiveness.

Why assess social and emotional growth anddevelopment?

A key theme emerging from the literature is thatassessment is a critical component of the learning andteaching cycle. Assessment' in this paper refers to allforms of measurement and appraisal that are recordedand integrated in an organised manner for the purpose

of gathering authentic, regular, detailed and objectiveinformation about a child's accomplishments (MacAfee& Leong, 2002). Effective early childhood programscannot be created unless teachers know what childrencan do independently and with the assistance of anadult. Teaching and learning are reciprocal processesthat affect each other, and assessment is a way offinding out how well the teacher is teaching and thelearner is learning (Kellough & Kellough, cited inEarly Learning Standards Taskforce and KindergartenAssessment Work Group, 2005). Fundamentally, it isimportant to assess social and emotional competenceand wellbeing in children in order to give them the bestchance of participating in early childhood programs(Sosna & Mastergeorge, 2005).

Issues and complexities of assessing social andemotional competence and wellbeing

Assessment in the early childhood phase has beendescribed as problematic; however, assessment ofsocial and emotional competence and wellbeing raisesfurther issues worthy of discussion. These includecomplexities of the domain; focus on academic skillsand school readiness; children from diverse culturesand backgrounds; the importance of the teacher; theinfluence of context; lack of consistency in terminology,including the voice of the child; and ethics associatedwith assessment.

Complexities of the domain _____

Social and emotional competence is a multifaceteddomain incorporating elements such as feelings,temperament, values, personality, dispositions andbehaviour. There is disagreement in the field on whataspects of these elements should be assessed andwhat the criteria for the assessment of social andemotional competence and wellbeing should be.Young children experience dramatic growth spurts andcompetencies are constantly evolving, adding to thecomplexity of assessment. If development and growthis not uniform, and knowledge and skills in this areaare socially and contextually framed, decisions aboutwhen and how to assess and what to assess becomeproblematic. In addition, Squires, Bricker and Twombly(2003) identify the following key variables-setting andtiming of assessment, child health, family culture andchild development-as affecting a child's performanceand hence the assessment of social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing.

Focus on academic skills and schoolreadiness

Arthur et al., (2008, p. 6) reported that, at a conference inAustralia on the transition to school, 'school readiness'

M Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

was described as 'being able to hold a pencil correctlyand knowing the letters of the alphabet'. Many earlychildhood practitioners claim there is a danger that thenon-compulsory years of school are becoming moreformal, with a focus on academic learning of contentareas (Miller & Almon, 2009). It is imperative that socialcompetence and interpersonal skills are seen as equallyimportant when children begin school (Raver, 2002) andbecome a strong consideration for school readiness,and that early childhood programs provide a balancedcurriculum across the development of children'sknowledge, skills and dispositions.

An issue surrounding the focus on academic and schoolreadiness skills in the literature is the use of standardisedtests in early childhood. While there may be sound reasonsfor the use of particular standardised tests, Stipek (2006)emphasises the need for careful development, monitoringand selection of standardised tests used for accountabilitypurposes.

Standardised testing of children has received greatcriticism in the educational literature (Stipek, 20061.Such tests include developmental inventories,academic readiness tests, diagnostic tools for specialneeds, group aptitude and achievement tests, andtests in almost any domain or learning area (McAfee &Leong, 2002).

Criticism is aimed at the use of standardised tests withyoung children for a number of reasons:

"* Unsuitability for this phase of development:Standardised tests usually take the children fromtheir familiar environment, or at the very least askthem to do prescribed tasks that are not part oftheir daily activities. The uneven developmentacross domains in some instances makes it difficultto provide meaningful data, as children may makegreat social gains in one month but not meet anynew academic goals.

"* Technical and educational inadequacy: Many testshave been developed on an outmoded theory ofhow children learn and develop (Shepard, 2000).Many tests do not adequately represent the normsof society and therefore cannot be trusted to bevalid and reliable in their scoring.

"* Often skills are tested in isolation: Standardisedtests can be a useful measuring tool of cognitiveachievement and a measure of mental health, butare not appropriate for all situations and should notcomprise the primary source of information abouta young child.

"* Unsuitability for some groups of children:Standardised tests are usually constructed basedon the norms of the dominant culture's middle-class children and as such can be biased againstlinguistically and culturally different children.

"* Overuse of tests and misuse of data: This isreported as particularly problematic in the literaturein the United States of America. Evidence indicatesthat if isolated skills are assessed then programsare likely to focus on isolated skills (Stipek, 2006).McAfee and Leong (2002) report that educationalinstitutions spend a lot of time and financialresources on tests and testing. Children arespending much of school time preparing for tests,and the misuse of test data may cost childrenvaluable time if used for purposes of retention.

"• Influence on classroom practice: All too oftenstandardised tests are being used to showaccountability and report how well schools anddistricts are doing. Such comparisons lead todistortions and misunderstandings of the tests'properties. They can also sway teachers to teach tothe test and not necessarily what is of the greatestworth to the class or individual in a particular context.

However, this is not to say that standardised tests shouldnot be used with young children, but rather that teachersshould be cautious. Well-researched and appropriatescreening and identification tools should be based onknowledge about how young children learn, and usedto provide valuable information to guide importantdecisions. In some situations tests may be the best wayto find out about particular types of learning.

Children from diverse cultures or with English asan additional language/English as an additionaldialect backgrounds

The literature highlights two important issues whenconsidering the assessment of social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing of children from diversecultural backgrounds. The first issue reinforces theconcept that culture provides a context in which childrendevelop a sense of identity and a frame of reference thatassists them in making sense of their world (Denham& Weissburg, 2004). Hudley (2001, cited in Denham& Weissburg, 2004) reminds us that we can seriouslymisunderstand the social and emotional needs ofchildren if we do not understand the child's culture andour own cultural perspective. Therefore, when assessingbehaviours associated with social and emotionalcompetence, teachers may make assumptions based ontheir own culture that are incorrect.

The second issue is that most standardised instrumentshave been constructed around the norms of whitemiddle-class populations. Such tools tend to label non-mainstream children as abnormal or deviant rather thandifferent (Fantuzzo et al., 1995). An issue of concern isthe void of reliable and valid tools to assess the socialand emotional competence and wellbeing of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander children.

Volume 35 Number 2 June 2010

The importance of the teacher inassessment

There is much written about who should conduct theassessments of young children. The early childhoodliterature argues that whoever makes the assessmentshould have a relationship with the child and see thechild daily (Edmunds & Stewart-Brown, 2003; McAfee& Leong, 2002). Others suggest it would depend on thetype of assessment being completed. If a professionaldiagnostic assessment were to be made, then speechtherapists, occupational therapists, school psychologistsor physiotherapists may become involved. Teachers needto make judgements about when to ask for professionalassistance, and this is usually done when a holistic studyof the child has been conducted by a variety of means,including observations across different situations andfrom multiple viewpoints. However, there are issueswhich teachers need to be aware of when maHngjudgements about children's social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing. They are:

"* Teacher bias and assessment subjectivity: Earlychildhood practitioners often do not understandthat children bring their own cultural lens toexperiences, which plays a major role in theirinteractions with others. This understanding iscritical when practitioners apply their own culturallens to assess, assign meaning to, or interpret thesocial and emotional competence and wellbeingof children (Denham & Weissberg, 2004). There isabundant evidence of teachers' cultural bias whenmaking assessments.

"* Teacher workload and philosophy: A practicalbarrier to assessment in this area can be teacherworkload. Teachers from a study in the UnitedKingdom (Edmunds & Stewart-Brown, 2003)reported that time and school supports wereissues they needed to contend with. They saidthey found both informal and formal assessmentsto be time-consuming and that time had become abarrier for assessment.

"* Teacher wellbeing and school/classroomenvironment: Weare and Gray (2003) report thatthe teacher's own behaviour and attitudes arefactors influencing children's social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing was the teacher's ownbehaviour and attitudes. Teachers cannot transmitemotional and social competence and wellbeing tochildren if their own emotional and social needs arenot being met.

"* Teacher knowledge and competence: Centralto administering any assessment tool (whethersummatiwe or formative) is the teacher'sunderstanding of assessment procedures andprocesses and knowledge of the area of social andemotional competence and wellbeing. As well, they

need to know how to apply the information they havegained to relevant and useful classroom practice.

Influence of context

As reported in the literature, young children's learning,actions and behaviours are constantly evolving throughsocial construction within the context of their familiesand communities. By the time children enter school, their

social and emotional wellbeing has been influenced by anumber of factors: the immediate setting of family, peers

and school impact most directly, while media, governmentagencies and social services exert a more indirect

influence. As development and growth is not uniform, andknowledge and skills are socially framed, decisions aboutwhat social competence looks like are problematic.

Lack of consistent terminology

A problem associated with this area is the lack of

common terms that describe growth and development.

Further, assessment of social and emotionaldevelopment and weilbeing is often hampered by alack of appropriate diagnostic terms. A limited range of

assessment tools in some cases, and an unwillingnessto acknowledge that a range of social and emotionalconcerns can affect young children, also hamper effortsfor policy-makers to consider assessment in this area

(Mental Health Taskforce, 2004).

Voice of the child

Many researchers and teachers believe that includingthe voice of the child in assessment is vital yet largely

overlooked as a point of reference, particularly in moreformal assessment procedures. As outlined by one UKschool principal, children's feelings and anxieties aredemonstrated through words as well as actions, and

therefore it is important to listen and hear the child'svoice (cited in Edmunds & Stewart-Brown, 2003, p. 32).

Quite young children are capable of making judgementsabout their own efforts and can play a helpful part in

their own assessment. There are practical implicationsfor including the child's voice but research has shown

the use of narratives that give meaning to events andobjects, and are constructions of children's learning andprocesses, is a valid form of assessment (Edwards,Gandini & Forman, 1998).

Ethics

The rights of children and their families, as describedin The United Nations Convention of the Rights of

the Child (1998), has had an impact on the area of

assessment, especially in the early childhood phase. The

ethical responsibility in assessment rests on teachers'

M Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

understanding of the rights of children and familiesand their realisation of the limits of their personalknowledge and the choice of assessment tools. US andUK authors describe high stakes accountability that maybe responsible for pressuring teachers into practicesthey believe are not in the best interests of the child(Dowling, 2007; Mindes, 2003). The failure of teachersto consider the ethical issues in assessment andassessment results can cause serious damage, such aslifelong stigmatisation and the restriction of educationalprospects. Mindes (2003, p.15) describes the 'dreadfulhistory in the Unites States in making improperdecisions about the mismatch of the assessment toolto the purpose, the interpretation of results beyond thelimits of the tool employed and the failure to considerthe contextual factors'. Mindes (2003) suggests thatmaking decisions about children's school entrance,retention or promotion dependent on test results couldbe detrimental and have lifelong consequences.

ConclusionDeveloping strong social and emotional competenceis essential for children's everyday wellbeing, aswell as for engagement and learning in school andbeyond. Healthy growth in this area is vital for positivemental health and affects growth in all other domains.Assessment in this area should reflect the drive for thehighest possible goals for young children's learning andshould be used to support quality teaching and learningprograms. The early childhood years are important intheir own right, and the cautions of formal assessmentsneed to be heeded so that children's capabilities areviewed as emerging, not fixed. The literature is clearabout the narrowness and inappropriateness of usingstandardised testing alone, which has the capacityto centre on isolated skills and results in narrow andpotentially misleading diagnosis. As reported by Arthuret al. (2008, p4.), it is 'critical to balance the focus onthe future contribution of young children to societywith recognition of what happens in their lives in thepresent'.

Social and emotional competence and wellbeingshould be situated within a comprehensive policy onassessment which has a shared knowledge, a sharedlanguage, and a comprehensive and coordinatedapproach to its implementation. The identificationof a collection of formal and informal assessmentresources that address a range of purposes, contexts,methods and timing, and complement the teacher'sphilosophy and school goals, would ensure that toolsand processes relate directly to children's needs.

A number of factors in a child's life that influence socialand emotional competence and wellbeing are beyond

the control of the teacher. So processes and proceduresneed to be put in place to assist teachers in supportinghealthy growth in this domain. Assessing socialand emotional skills with a range of tools, includingobservations can help teachers to identify those thatneed further diagnosis and assistance.

ReferencesArthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S12008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings.(4th edn). Melbourne: Nelson Australia Pty Ltd.

Cohen. J., Onunaku, N., Clothier, S., & Poppe, J (2005).Helping young children succeed. Strategies to promotechi/dhood social and emotional competence. Washington:National Conference of State Legislatures, September.

Danielson, C. K., & Phelps, C. R. (2003). The assessment ofchildren's social skills through self report. A potential screeninginstrument for classroom use. Measurement and evaluation incounselling and developmentr 35(4), 218-229.

Denham, S. (2006). Social-emotional competence as supportfor school readiness: What is it and how do we assess it? EarlyEducation and Development. 17/1), 57-89.

Denham, S., & Weissberg, R. P (2004). Social-emotionallearning in early childhood: What we know and where to gofrom here. In E, Chesebrough, P King, T P Gullotta, & M BloomlEds), A Blueprint for the promotion of prosocial behaviourin early childhood lpp. 13-50). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,

Department of Education and Children's Services (2005).Wellbeing is central to learning. A working paper. SouthAustralia: DECS Publishing.

Dowling, M. (2007). Young childrens personal, social andemotional development. Great Britain: Paul ChapmanPublishing.

Early Learning Standards Taskforce and KindergartenAssessment Work Group (2005). Early childhood assessmentfor children from birth to age 8. Harrisburg, PA. PennsylvaniaBuild Initiative.

Edmunds, L., & Stewart-Brown, S. (2003). Assessingemotional and social competence in primary school and earlyyears settings: A review of approaches, issues and instruments.University of Oxford: Health Services Research Unit Instituteof Health Sciences.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (1998). The hundredlanguages of children. The Reggio Emilia approach --Advancedreflections. Greenwich: Ablex Pub. Co.

Fantuzzo, J, Suttonsmith, B., Coolahan, K.C, Manz, PH.,Canning, S., & Debnam, D. (1995). Assessment of preschoolplay interaction behaviours in young low-income children -Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Early Childhood ResearchQuarterly 10, 105-120.

Farrar, E., Goldfield, S., & Moore, T 12007). School readiness.Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. Perth,Western Australia: Public Policy Matters.

Hertzman, C. 12004), Making eaidy childhood development apriority: Lessons from Vancouver. S. Richardson & M. Priro(Eds) Ottawa, Canada: Institute of Medicine,

Volume 35 Number 2 June 2010 M

Kostelnik, M. J., Whiren, A. R Soderman, A.K., Stein, L. C.,& Gregory, K. (2006) Guiding children's social development.Theory to practice (5th edn). Australia: Thomson Learning.

MacAfee, 0, & Leong, D. (2002). Assessing young childrensdevelopment (3rd edn). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Mental Health Taskforce (2004). Assessment of social andemotional development in infants and toddlers. IndianaAssociation of Intant andToddler Mental Health.

Mindes, G. (2003). Assessing young children. (2nd edn). UpperSaddle River, N.J.: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Miller, E., & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: Whychildren need to play in school. College Park MD: Alliance forChildren.

Moore, T (2006). Early childhood and long term development:The importance of the early years. Perth, Western Australia:Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

Raver, C. C (20021 Emotions matter: Making the case forthe role of young children's emotional development for earlyschool readiness. Social Policy Report Vol XVL No.3: ColumbiaUniversity: Society for Research in Child Development.

Raver, C. C., & Knitze, J. (2002). Ready to enter: What researchtells policymakers about strategies to promote social andemotional school readiness among three- and four-year-oldchildren. Columbia University: National Centre for Children inPoverty.

Raver, C C. & Zigler, E. 2004). Another step back? Assessingreadiness in Head Start. Young Children, 59(1), 58-63.

Shepard, L. A. (2000) The role of earning in the assessmentculture Educational Researcher 29(7), 4-14

Shonkoff, J., & Phillips, D. (2000) (Eds). From neurons toneighbourhoods: The science of early childhood development.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Sosna, T., & Mastergeorge, A. (2005). The infant, preschool,family, mental health initiative: Compendium of screening toolsfor early childhood social-emotional development. Sacramento:California Institute for Mental Health.

Squires, J., Bricker, D, & Twombly, E. (2003). The ASQ:SEusers guide. Maryland: Paul H Brooks Publishing Co.

Stipek, D. 12006) No child left behind comes to preschool. The

Elementary School Journal, 106(5), 455-465.

Weare, K., & Gray, G. (2003). What works in developingchildren s emotional and social competence and wellbeing?Research Report No 456. Crown Printers: University ofSouthampton, Health Education Unit, Research and GraduateSchool of Education.

JEAN DENTON & LILLIAN DE LISSA SCHOLARSHIP

THE JEAN DENTON MEMORIAL S(up to a maximum of $16,000:Tax Exempt)

a

S COMMITTEE

:HOLARSHIP

M Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Complexities of assessing social and emotionalcompetence and wellbeing in young children

SOURCE: Australas J Early Child 35 no2 Je 2010

The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and itis reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article inviolation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher:http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pubs_subs_ajec.htm