This study explored children's leadership in peer interaction, presented concrete and comprehensive materials in relation to the variables related to peer leadership, and identified relationship between peer leadership and children-related variables....
This study explored children's leadership in peer interaction, presented concrete and comprehensive materials in relation to the variables related to peer leadership, and identified relationship between peer leadership and children-related variables.
The following propositions were considered to achieve the study purpose:
1. How is peer leadership displayed by children's individual variables, such as gender, sibling relation (number and order of siblings) and experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten?
1-1. Are there differences in peer leadership by children's gender?
1-2. Are there differences in peer leadership by children's sibling relation (number and order of siblings)?
1-3. What relationship is found between peer leadership and children's experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten?
2. What relationship is found between peer leadership and children's temperament?
3. What relationship does exist between peer leadership and peer interaction?
To solve the research propositions as above, this study targeted 70 four to five year-olds (46 boys and 24 girls) of the kindergarten children and 70 mothers (46 boys' mothers and 24 girls' mothers) in two kindergartens located in a Residential Land Development Area in Gyeonggi Province. Data for interaction and peer leadership were collected through observations during free selective activity hours. The behaviors of targeted children were videotaped. For observation, a total of 80 sessions of observation (20 minutes) per child were conducted using a time sampling method with 10 seconds observation and five seconds record. Data for children's individual variables (gender, sibling relation and experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten) and temperament were collected through the questionnaire for mothers.
For data analysis in this study, SPSS 12.0 (for Windows) statistical program was used. To identify basic background and main variables' distribution of the study target, frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviation were calculated. To test measuring tools and confidence level between observers, Cronbach's α coefficient and Cohen's Kappa coefficient were calculated, respectively.
The analytic methods used by each research proposition are as follows:
First, t-test and one-way ANOVA were implemented to find out whether peer leadership showed differences by children's individual variables (gender and sibling relation). To identify the relationship between children's individual variables (experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten) and peer leadership, Pearson's correlation was estimated.
Second, to find out relationship between peer leadership and children's temperament, Pearson's correlation was estimated.
Third, Pearson's correlation was estimated to identify what relationship exists between peer leadership and peer interaction.
The results of this study can be summarized as follows:
Firstly, peer leadership and children's individual variables (gender, sibling relation and experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten) were explored. Looking into differences in peer leadership by gender, girls used more prosocial leadership than boys. For peer leadership according to sibling relation (first child, second child, child without siblings), children with siblings (first child and second child) had higher prosocial leadership than children without siblings, but the children without siblings showed higher social dominance strategies than children with siblings. The first children and second children in sibling relation showed the least physical aggression and verbal aggression in terms of dominance strategies. For relationship between experience in spending time with peers in kindergarten and peer leadership, the period spent with peers in kindergarten showed a significant difference in peer leadership. Less prosocial leadership was shown as the period spent with peers in kindergarten was longer, while more dominance strategies and more physical and verbal aggression were shown as the period spent with peers in kindergarten was longer.
Secondly, as a result of investigating the relationship of children's temperament with peer leadership, the sociability, emotional attributes and activity attributes of the temperament variables had relationship with peer leadership. Looking into prosocial leadership's sub-variables, active children showed lower prosociability, and active and low sociable children's organizational skills were higher. For dominance strategies' sub-variables, active children showed more physical aggression, and children with emotional attributes showed more verbal aggression.
Thirdly, looking into the correlation of peer leadership and peer interaction, significant correlations were shown in all variables. For correlation of prosocial leadership and peer interaction, positive and non-verbal behaviors showed a positive correlation with prosocial leadership, and negative behaviors displayed a negative correlation with prosocial leadership. For sub-variables of prosocial leadership, prosociability showed a positive correlation with positive and non-verbal behaviors of peer interaction, and a negative correlation was demonstrated in other verbal behaviors. For organizational skills, a significant relationship was displayed in positive behaviors: a positive correlation was shown with verbal behaviors, but non-verbal behaviors displayed a negative correlation. Peer imitation showed a negative correlation only in negative and non-verbal behaviors. Meanwhile, looking into the correlation of dominance strategies and peer interaction, dominance strategies showed a negative correlation with positive and non-verbal behaviors and displayed a positive correlation with negative behaviors. Concerning the sub-variables of dominance strategies, physical and verbal aggressions displayed a positive correlation in negative behaviors, respectively.