social-emotional well-being and resilience of children in early childhood
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This article was downloaded by: [Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris]On: 26 November 2012, At: 05:49Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
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Social‐emotional well‐being andresilience of children in earlychildhood settings – PERIK: anempirically based observation scale forpractitionersToni Mayr a & Michaela Ulich aa State Institute of Early Childhood Research, Munich, GermanyVersion of record first published: 11 Mar 2009.
To cite this article: Toni Mayr & Michaela Ulich (2009): Social‐emotional well‐being and resilienceof children in early childhood settings – PERIK: an empirically based observation scale forpractitioners, Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 29:1, 45-57
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Social-emotional well-being and resilience of children in early childhoodsettings – PERIK: an empirically based observation scale forpractitioners
Toni Mayr* and Michaela Ulich
State Institute of Early Childhood Research, Munich, Germany
Compared with the traditional focus on developmental problems, research onpositive development is relatively new. Empirical research in children’s well-beinghas been scarce. The aim of this study was to develop a theoretically andempirically based instrument for practitioners to observe and assess preschoolchildren’s well-being in early childhood settings. The analysis of preschoolteachers’ ratings yields six dimensions of social-emotional well-being: (1) makingcontact/social performance, (2) self control/thoughtfulness, (3) self-assertiveness,(4) emotional stability/coping with stress, (5) task orientation, (6) pleasure inexploration. Composite scales were constructed. PERIK consists of six scales ofsix items each. The scales differentiate in both the upper and lower range anddespite their brevity have good psychometric qualities. The instrument waspublished together with a booklet containing examples of how PERIKobservations can be employed in practical work with children.
Keywords: observation scale; social-emotional well-being; resilience; early child-hood settings
Introduction
Well-being is a topic that concerns us every day in our professional and private lives
and it is quite natural for adults to be particularly concerned about the well-being of
children. All parents wish that their children will develop positively. Even for pre-
school and other teachers who deal with children professionally, the well-being of the
children in their care is of paramount importance beyond all pedagogical methods
and trends. They know that learning and developmental processes succeed best when
the children are healthy and happy. Thus, well-being of children is a central indicator
of the quality of educational institutions and processes (Laevers 2003; Ministerium
fur Kultus, Jugend und Sport Baden-Wurttemberg 2006; New Zealand Ministry of
Education 1996; Van Sanden and Joly 2003).
But what are the consequences for pedagogical work in early childhood settings
and schools? Here, it very quickly becomes clear that it is one thing to use terms like
‘well-being’ and ‘positive development’ in everyday discussions and educational
programs and quite another thing to make such concepts concrete, because terms
like ‘well-being’ and ‘positive development’ refer to complex physical and
psychological states and dispositions. In order to observe and keep track of
each child’s individual well-being, professional educators need to have (a) a well-
defined concept of well-being and (b) reliable and valid instruments for its
observation and assessment. There is a vast need for development here, which is
*Corresponding author. Email: toni.mayr@ifp.bayern.de
Early Years
Vol. 29, No. 1, March 2009, 45–57
ISSN 0957-5146 print/ISSN 1472-4421 online
# 2009 TACTYC
DOI: 10.1080/09575140802636290
http://www.informaworld.com
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certainly surprising considering how often the topic of well-being is highlighted in
preschool education.
The lack of theoretical concepts and instruments for describing and recording
‘well-being’ in children is due mainly to the fact that ‘positive development’ has long
been neglected by research. Developmental risks were prominent; the instruments for
observing children are still strongly focused on developmental problems – with a few
exceptions, e.g. the innovative and widely known work of Laevers on involvement
(Laevers 2000, 2003; Ulich and Mayr 2003a) or, with a different perspective, the
scales of Ulich and Mayr (2003b, 2006) for the observation and assessment of
language and literacy competencies.
It is only in the past few years that this ‘deficit perspective’ has been questioned.
Currently, there is an ever-growing interest in competence and positive development.
The following gives a report on a newly developed instrument for observing and
assessing the well-being of children in early childhood centres (Mayr and Ulich
2006). The instrument is called PERIK (Positive development and resilience
in kindergarten; in German: Positive Entwicklung und Resilienz im
Kindergartenalltag).
Theoretical background
The development of PERIK was based primarily on three different sources: research
on ‘mental health’, ‘resilience’ and ‘school readiness’.
Mental health
About 30 years ago, research on mental health started to look systematically at
positive development and physical and mental well-being (salutogenesis). The aim
was to achieve a discrete concept of ‘positive’ development (e.g. Antonovsky
1979).
Different concepts were developed with regard to individual mental health (e.g.
Compton 1998; Goppel 1997). A differentiation made by Ryan and Deci (2000) is
important for the understanding and theoretical classification of these currently very
heterogeneous concepts: the focus is either on subjective well-being (‘hedonic
approach’) or on optimum development of the individual’s intrinsic potential
(‘eudaimonic approach’); the latter can but does not have to be linked with subjective
well-being, and vice versa.
In Germany, it was above all Becker who concentrated on research on mental
health (e.g. 1982, 1986). He developed a complex concept of seven bipolar
dimensions (Becker 1986), e.g. ‘physical well-being’ (frequently positive feelings,
seldom negative feelings), ‘high level of energy’ (vitality, activity, initiative, interest)
and ‘expansivity’ (spontaneity, self-assertiveness, self-actualization).
The concept of ‘life skills’ (World Health Organisation 1994; Asshauer and
Hanewinkel 2000) is influential in the educational sector. What is meant here are
skills that enable appropriate interaction with fellow human beings and also
facilitate coping with everyday problems and stress situations: (1) self-awareness and
empathy, (2) effective handling of stress and difficult situations, (3) communication
and social competence, (4) critical, creative, independent thinking, (5) ability to solve
problems.
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Resilience
The concept of resilience came to the fore in the field of so-called risk research. This
concentrates on children who grow up in particularly difficult conditions; these
children often suffer from different problems – in childhood or later.
Longitudinal studies of these children from birth or early childhood toadolescence and adulthood (e.g. Block and Block 1988; Garmezy 1981; Murphy
and Moriarty 1976; Rutter 1997; Werner and Smith 1982; see also review: Luthar,
Cicchetti, and Becker 2000; Werner 2000) show that even in such high risk samples
there are children who do not fail in their ‘developmental tasks’ or show deviant
behaviours, but develop positively in kindergarten and school and later become
successful and happy. These children are described as ‘resilient’.
What characterises these children? The results of longitudinal studies have
provided perspectives on critical developmental personality factors of resilient
children (Mayr and Ulich 2003):
N easy temperament and friendliness
N ability to elicit positive attention from family members and strangers
N positive self concept, self-esteem
N autonomy and independence
N proactive approach to problem-solving
N persistence and concentration
N pleasure in novel experiences, curiosity and exploratory drive, alertness
N empathy and prosocial orientation
N positive social relationships
N ability to delay gratification
N positive processing (and restructuring) of negative experiences
N control of affect
N adequate expression of feelings and demands
N optimism, vitality and energy
N having hobbies and interests
N ability to recover after distressful experiences
N being calm and relaxed
Readiness for school
Transition to school is a complex phenomenon involving an organised system ofinteractions and transactions among persons and institutions (Pianta and Rimm-
Kaufmann 2006). As far as the competencies of children are concerned, mostly we
associate ‘school readiness’ with intellectual, linguistic and numeracy competencies.
However, more recent studies show that also early social and emotional
competencies have a significant influence on how a child copes with school later
on (Becker and Luthar 2002; Ladd, Birch, and Buhs 1999; Lane et al. 2007; Meisels
1999; McClelland and Morrison 2003; McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes 2000;
Normandeau and Guay 1998; Raver and Zigler 1997; Rimm-Kaufmann, Pianta, andCox 2000; Shonkoff and Phillips 2000; Zins et al. 2004).
Of primary significance here is the capability of children to regulate themselves at
different levels (e.g. Blaire 2002; Bronson 2000; Kopp 1982, 1989; Rothbart and
Bates 1998). In detail, this concerns the following:
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N Regulative competencies at the cognitive level (control of attentiveness,
planning and target orientation in activities, independent working, persistence).
N ‘Impulse control’ or ‘effortful control’ (ability to resist to temptation, tolerate
frustration, comply with requests, wait patiently, listen to others).
N Emotion regulation (appropriate expression of emotions, modulation of
emotional arousal, managing aversive emotions like sadness, frustration, or
anger, remaining behaviorally organized in face of distressing circumstances).
N Regulation of exploratory behavior (level of interest, curiosity, initiative,
persistence and motivation to explore).
‘Social competence’ is also a multilayered construct (e.g. Eisenberg, Fabes, and
Spinrad 2006; Kienbaum 2003, forthcoming; Petermann 2002; Saarni 1999). The
following competencies are often emphasised as being particularly relevant in
relation to ‘school readiness’:
N Assertive behaviours (ability to say what he/she wants, to defend own viewsunder group pressure, to question unfair rules).
N Prosocial behaviours (initiating interactions with peers, cooperating withchildren and adults, sharing, showing concern for others, resolving conflicts
without aggression, cooperating with adults).
N Social integration/social performance (friendships, appreciation by other
children, good relationships with preschool teacher).
Early regulative and early social competencies are linked with each other (e.g. Fabes
et al. 1999) and establish a framework for later development. They provide the
requirements for good social relationships in school – with peers and the teachingstaff – and lay the essential foundations for learning and performance. These
competencies are important not only at the transition to school, but also at the ages
of three and four and can thus be observed and encouraged early on (McClelland
and Morrison 2003).
From the theory to the observation instrument
A basic task of research is – beyond personal wishes and educational aims – to define
the content of positive development more precisely and to define the ways of
achieving this aim. Here all three theories are relevant. The traits and conditions of
positive development are differentiated and researched empirically, e.g. on the basis
of large-scale longitudinal studies. Important for our work was the fact that various
approaches reveal perhaps not quite identical, but nevertheless very similar,
dimensions of positive development. This is remarkable in that we are consideringdifferent scientific ‘schools’ that hardly take any notice of each other. However,
apparently there is a common core of socioemotional competencies that build the
foundations for positive development – regardless of the scientific contexts.
This common core was the basis for developing PERIK. PERIK focuses on a
concept of well-being emphasising the ‘eudaimonic approach’ and socioemotional
competencies. The aim was to develop a practical, not too complex but nevertheless
reliable instrument for preschool teachers enabling them to observe and record
systematically the well-being of children in their everyday educational settings.
PERIK is the result of various phases of development. The first step was to
mould the results and concepts of research into a construct that is suitable for
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observing children in preschool. Some concepts (e.g. self-actualization) were
developed in research with youths and adults and so cannot be transferred directly
to the preschool age group; others, for example ‘proactive coping’, are very difficult
to observe externally.
On the basis of theoretical considerations and working sessions with
practitioners from eight day care centres, we first defined nine areas and designed
items for each area (a total of 78 items with a five-point rating scale). The work of
the Ferre Laevers research group (e.g. Vandenbussche et al. 1999) with their more
phenomenological descriptions of well-being was also helpful in this process.
The first experimental version of the questionnaire was tested in two empirical
studies: the first with 171 children, the second with 309 children (Mayr and Ulich
1999, 2003). The results were interesting and encouraging. Basically, children’s well-
being in preschool emerged as a multidimensional construct. A total of 11
independent dimensions were identified by principal component analysis: (1)
empathic, prosocial behavior, (2) social initiative and vitality, (3) self-assertiveness,
openness, (4) pleasure in exploring, (5) coping with stress, (6) positive self-defence,
(7) pleasure in sensory experiences (food, smells), (8) persistence/robustness, (9) sense
of humour, (10) positive attitude toward warmth and closeness, (11) ability to rest
and relax. The first six dimensions could be interpreted relatively clearly, whereas the
remaining five factors were more hypothetical. This was a first exploratory step
toward developing a theory of well-being in early childhood and constructing a scale
to be used in early childhood settings.
The experience gained from this first empirical phase was channelled into a
thorough overhaul of the observation instrument. On the conceptual level, we had
not paid enough attention to the topic of self-regulation and self-organisation as a
central development task in preschool age (e.g. Aksan and Kochanska 2004;
Bronson 2000; Kochanska, Murray, and Harlan 2000; Kopp 1982, 1989; Rothbart
and Rueda 2005). The studies of Hightower et al. (1986), Kendall and Wilcox (1979),
Olson and Kashiwagi (2000) and Shields and Cichetti (1997) were the main points of
reference at the observation procedure level.
The second experimental version of the observation scale comprised a total of 85
items. This instrument was used to observe a random group of 351 children in 30
kindergartens1 (159 boys, 161 girls; 116 four-year-olds, 128 five-year-olds, 76 six-
year-olds). Teachers were asked to rate the children on a six-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (always applies) to 6 (does not apply).
Empirical findings
Six dimensions of well-being
Teachers’ ratings were subjected to principal component analysis with orthogonal
varimax rotation2. Six central dimensions could be interpreted as follows (percentage
of the variance, number of markers and factor loadings in brackets).3
Factor 1: ‘Self-control, thoughtfulness’ (13.2% of variance; 18 items; 7 items with
loading >.70, 5 items >.60, 3 items >.50)
This first factor is composed of items that refer to self-control and to empathic-
thoughtful behaviour; both aspects are highly interrelated. Children’s ability to
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control their own actions consciously and deliberately grows rapidly in the three to
six-year-old age group. The observation is focused on the one hand on the aspect:
can children defer needs and put aside their own wishes? Can they keep to rules and
regulations? On the other hand, it focuses on perspective taking and empathy. Canchildren put themselves in the place of others? Do they show compassion, do they
have respect for others? The ability to control oneself consciously and the ability to
respect and care for others are stages in development that are of long-term
significance.
Factor 2: ‘Making contact, social performance’ (11.4% of variance; 16 items; 4 items
with loading >.70, 6 Items >.60, 3 Items >.50; 2 Items >.40)
The items for this area primarily target the four different social competencies
involved when interacting with other children: the ability to make positive contact
easily; the ability to apply appropriate means to join in the games of other children;the ability and readiness to communicate with other children verbally; the ability to
initiate games that are attractive to other children.
All these competencies – when used by children – affect the development of early
behavioural patterns in relationships with peers. Two major aspects of thedevelopment of relationships in early childhood are addressed; each has to be
observed separately also with respect to their different significance for the
development of the child:
N The position of a child in the group: how important is the child in the eyes of
the other children, what influence does the child have?
N Friendships: to what extent does the child have intensive, friendly relation-
ships with other children?
Factor 3: ‘Task orientation’ (8.5% of variance; 14 items; 2 items with loading >.70, 4
Items >.60, 5 Items >.50; 3 Items >.40)
Factor three refers to activities that have to be planned and executed purposefully
and where the children have to act independently. These tasks can be set by the
preschool teacher or chosen by the children. The following aspects play a role in
responding to the question ‘How does the child behave with respect to such tasks?’.
It is a matter of concentration and persistence in executing the tasks, and also a
matter of independence. Does the child try to master the tasks independently or does
he/she always need praise and encouragement? Does the child start quickly? Is he/she
careful and accurate?
Factor 4: ‘Self-assertiveness’ (7% of variance; 11 items; 1 item with loading >.70, 3
Items >.60, 2 Items >.50; 5 Items >.40)
Factor four describes a child who has a self-confident attitude, who will assert
himself/herself and take a stand (hold his/her ground), who is ready to defend
himself/herself when necessary. More specifically it refers to children’s ability or
readiness to communicate their feelings, needs and wishes to others (also to adults),
to make claims, to tell other people what is on their minds. Self-assertiveness should
be distinguished from aggressive behaviour.
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Factor 5: ‘Pleasure in exploring’ (5.2% of variance; 11 items; 1 item >.60, 4 items
>.50; 4 items >.40)
This factor has a very clear focus. It includes items like ‘asks questions, wants toknow about things’, ‘likes to explore new things’, ‘is optimistic and positive when
beginning something new’. Even exploratory ‘courage’ comes under this factor: ‘will
try things that seem difficult’. All in all, this factor seems to describe a very basic
tendency of children to be curious and optimistic rather than defensive toward novel
situations, to show a positive and constructive attitude toward challenges.
Factor 6: ‘Emotional stability, coping with stress’ (4.6% of variance; 8 items; 2 items
>.60, 2 items >.50; 4 items >.40)
Factor six describes two highly interrelated aspects: ‘reactivity’ or ‘emotionalstability’ and ‘coping with stress’. Reactivity refers to habitual emotional
responsivity, coping with stress means the ability of children to modulate this
reactivity (‘is able to calm down on his/her own’). Children with high scores in this
dimension remain accessible and open to their social environment even when under
stress: they do not tend to withdraw, and they will let themselves be comforted when
they are sad – which means that they can accept and use emotional support from
peers and adults.
Scale development
With reference to the factor pattern, six composite scales were constructed with sixitems each. Items are chosen for inclusion on the basis of factor patterns, item-total
correlations, internal consistency and a thorough examination of the contents of
individual items. PERIK consists of 36 items (Table 1); some statistics of the
instrument are presented in Table 2. Reliability coefficients (Cronbachs alpha)
range from .81 (‘emotional stability/coping with stress’) to .88 (‘Making contact/
social performance’) demonstrating a relatively high internal consistency of the
scales, considering the measure’s brevity. The scales are approximately normally
distributed; they differentiate in both the upper and lower range.To evaluate age and gender effects, children were divided into three different age
groups (four, five, and six years). Next, 2 (child gender) 63 (child age) ANOVAS
were conducted separately for each scale. Analyses revealed that children’s scores on
all six scales varied significantly with child’s age, in the expected direction of older
children manifesting more advanced competencies. Significant main effects were
obtained for child’s gender too: univariate tests revealed that girls had higher scores
than boys on five scales. Boys and girls did not differ significantly on the scale ‘self-
assertiveness’.For all six scales percentile norms were calculated (percentile 25, percentile 75).
Discussion
Because interest in children’s competencies is relatively new, compared with the
traditional focus on developmental problems, less is known about empirically
derived dimensions of competencies/dispositions and about instruments to observe
and assess competencies. The present research revealed six dimensions of socio-
emotional competency in preschool age: ‘making contact/social performance’,
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Table 1. PERIK: Dimensions and items.
Making contact/social performance
N the child makes (positive) contact easily with peers
N initiates games which are attractive for other children
N tells other children about his/her experiences
N if he/she wants to join other children in play, he/she can express this adequately, e.g.
using entrance rituals like ‘may I play with you?’
N his/her opinion is important among peers
N has close relationships (friendships) with other children
Self-control/thoughtfulness
N the child can wait for his/her turn, e.g. in group discussions, when food or materials are
handed out
N respects the boundaries and needs of other children
N isworriedwhenhe/shehashurtanotherchildordamagedsomething;apologises, tries tomakeup
N has respect and empathy for feelings and mood of adults, e.g. when I ask the children to
be a little quiet, because I am not feeling well
N respects ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’, e.g. concerning the use of certain rooms or objects
N can be glad for other children, shares their joy and success, e.g. when a child gets a present
Self-assertiveness
N the child enjoys relating tells his/her experiences, e.g. about the weekend
N when an adult does not treat him/her justly, the child will speak up for himself/herself
N is able to make justified demands on adults, e.g. reminding them of a promise
N when something is wrong/disagreeable or something bad happens among children, he/she
will speak up, e.g. will say ‘stop it’, ‘no I don’t want to do that’
N can defend himself/herself verbally or physically when attacked by other children
N does not allow himself/herself to be put under pressure, e.g. holds an opinion that others
do not share
Emotional stability/coping with stress
N the child remains reachable when in distress, e.g. when he/she is cross, disappointed, sad
N he/she calms down on his/her own following excitement or stress
N appears well-balanced
N doesn’t mind too much when he/she makes a mistake, loses at a game…
N takes relatively long to recover after stress and excitement (2)
N quickly loses his balance, feels stressed easily (2)
Task orientation
N the child quickly begins a task
N works on a task independently
N works quickly
N works carefully and precisely, e.g. when cutting, gluing, building a bridge…
N can remain concentrated on one thing for relatively long
N needs praise and encouragement to finish a task (2)
Pleasure in exploring
N the child likes to explore new things
N is optimistic and positive when beginning something new
N asks questions, wants to know about things
N explores new things independently
N gives himself/herself time to get acquainted with new situations and things
N will try things that seem difficult or might not succeed
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‘self-control/thoughtfulness’, ‘self-assertiveness’, ‘emotional stability/coping with
stress’, ‘Task orientation’, ‘Pleasure in exploring’.
At the scientific level, the dimensions found here match well the research referred
to at the beginning on mental health, resilience and readiness for school. There is
also a high degree of agreement with temperament research (e.g. Rothbart and Bates
1998), research on prosocial development – e.g. the link between impulse control and
the development of empathy (e.g. Eisenberg, Fabes, and Spinrad 2006), and research
on self-regulation (e.g. Bronson 2000).
With reference to observation procedures, all the dimensions of PERIK could be
identified as independent factors in other empirical studies (Fingerle 2000; Gresham
and Elliot 1990; Hightower et al. 1986; Janus, Walsh, and Duku 2005; Kendall and
Wilcox 1979; McDermott, Leigh, and Perry 2002; Olson and Kashiwagi 2000;
Putnam and Rothbart 2006; Shields and Cichetti 1997).
At the educational level, PERIK can be used both quantitatively and
qualitatively. Quantitatively, a summary score can be formed for each area of
competence. This provides the option of making systematic comparisons, e.g. where
does a child stand in a specific area compared with other children in the same age
group? Such scores can be used also in educational projects and interventions.
Existing findings indicate that the PERIK scales, despite their brevity, have good
psychometric qualities. The scales demonstrate a relatively high internal consistency.
There is evidence of validity as well: (a) factorial structure of the instrument was
compatible with existing theoretical models and with other empirical results. (b)
Associations between PERIK scores with age and gender replicated age and gender
differences demonstrated in other studies (Janus and Offord 2007; Kochanska,
Murray, and Coy 1997; Mayr 2000). (c) The relationships between children’s PERIK
scores and the quality of teacher–child relationships, measured via the Student–
Teacher Relationship Scale (Pianta 2001), were consistently in the expected direction
(Mayr n.d.): there was a high negative correlation between children’s self-regulation
(PERIK: ‘self-control/thoughtfulness’ and ‘emotional stability/coping with stress’)
and ‘conflict’ (STRS). As can be predicted from the attachment theory (e.g.
Scholmerich and Legning 2004), emotional ‘closeness’ (STRS) was strongly
(positively) associated with ‘pleasure in exploration’ (PERIK).
At the qualitative level there should be a close connection between assessment in
pedagogical settings on the one hand and curricular goals and pedagogical action on
the other hand (Meisels and Atkins-Burnett 2006). The items in PERIK describe
competencies that are designated as concrete learning goals in many German
Table 2. PERIK: selected statistical parameters.
Scale M S Kurtosis Skewness Alpha
Making contact/social performance 21.23 4.85 .08 2.51 .88
Self-control/thoughtfulness 21.85 4.40 2.46 2.36 .86
Self-assertiveness 20.97 4.61 2.19 2.35 .81
Emotional stability/coping with stress 22.35 4.11 .13 2.37 .82
Task orientation 22.50 4.62 2.33 2.21 .85
Pleasure in exploration 19.84 4.52 2.28 2.08 .86
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preschool curricula. The questionnaire helps professionals to recognise and
encourage such competencies in everyday kindergarten life.
The questionnaire covers emotions, social processes and interactions. This means
that we are moving in a sensitive and complex field and must be careful with quick-
fix solutions (patent recipes). The relationship between observation and pedagogical
action is at different levels in PERIK:
N Working with the questionnaire leads to a differentiated perspective of the
individual child. Thus, for example, within a specific area of development
different individual competencies become clear: a child might have a lot of
contact with other children, but only rarely takes the initiative and has the feeling
that he/she does not have many friends. In the synopsis of areas and separate
components there are indications of where support can be practically applied.
N In addition to providing information about children, observation with PERIK
also raises questions that concern the preschool teachers themselves: what are
my pedagogical aspirations? How should I attune to a child? Where should I
change my expectations? How do I react to the self-assertiveness of a six-year-old boy if I am always ready to make compromises and have a need for
harmony, for example? How do I differentiate between aggression and self-
assertiveness in such a case?
N Based on the observations, specific competencies can be deliberately
encouraged in everyday life. For example in the case of Lena, a girl who
has little self-confidence, the preschool teacher observed that Lena is reticent
when something new is introduced and hardly tries anything that she is not
sure to succeed in. When making a self-portrait, she refuses to paint her nose.
She is afraid of messing up her picture. The preschool teacher suggests trying
to draw her nose first on a separate piece of paper and thus with this little
stimulus helps her over the ‘I can’t do that’ threshold.
The accompanying booklet to PERIK contains practical suggestions and examples
of how preschool teachers can support and reinforce specific areas and competencies.
The examples reflect different levels of support – from spontaneous assistance in
everyday activities to the systematic structuring of the learning environment.
Notes
1. Traditionally in Germany ‘kindergarten’ is for children from three to six.
2. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 14 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1. An eight-
factor solution was selected because it best satisfied standard criteria for retention and
because this solution was psychologically meaningful and compatible with existing
theoretical models. With reference to Guadagnoli and Velicer’s (1988) criteria, the first
six factors could be substantially interpreted.
3. For reasons of space we did not include the whole matrix of factor loadings; the complete
matrix will be sent upon request.
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