The objective of this research is to comprehend and investigate the conflictual behavior of one-year-old infants living in children's homes. Thus, the conflictual behaviors of one-year-old infants were observed to investigate the causes and some possi...
The objective of this research is to comprehend and investigate the conflictual behavior of one-year-old infants living in children's homes. Thus, the conflictual behaviors of one-year-old infants were observed to investigate the causes and some possible solutions of these behaviors. The research mainly focused on the following questions:
1. What conflictual aspects do Hat-nim class infants (19-24 month old) show?
2. What are some possible solutions to the conflicts that arise in Hat-nim class infants (19-24 month old)?
This research investigated one-year-old infants of Hat-nim class at Han-sol children's home, located in Seoul. 14 infants from Hat-nim class and three teachers were subjects of this research. The data was collected from August 25, 2008 to September 30, 2008. During data collection, infants and teachers were observed for 24 times. Other than this, parent-teacher conference, documents and video clips were also observed. Based on the inspections of the site and the video clips, it was possible to come up with the site description and a copy of the parent-teacher conference. As Bogdan and Biklen(2007) suggested the data were coded and categorized.
The results of the research are the following:
First, the conflicts between infants were caused by toys, at play times, with physical contacts and an assault by other infants, seats and from unwanted help for behaviors. The conflicts arose from toys included: snatching toys away from other infants, having exclusive possession of the toys and when hugging the toys. On the other hand, play time conflicts arose when infants disturbed the play time and refused to take part during play times.
Second, the solutions can be categorized into two parts: first being the solutions from the teacher and the second being the solutions from the infants. The teacher should change the toys, show attention and act as an intermediator to solve the conflict. On the other hand, infants should substitute the toys, give back the toys to one another and propitiate with others by smiling to solve the conflicts.
Based on the results, there are some suggestions:
First, the aspects of the conflicts among the infants of Hat-nim class differ based on circumstances and their behavior and response to the conflicts can be seen as natural outcomes if they are considered at the developed level of one-year-old infants. Therefore, teachers must be aware of the level of the development of one-year-old infants. More so, rather than trying to meet certain standards, it is wise to lead the infants to find the solutions on their own. The teachers should lead the infants based on each infant's degree of development, characteristics and personalities.
Second, when the conflicts occur, the infants of Hat-nim class tend to rely on their teachers to be involved and solve the problems for them. However, after dealing with various types of conflicts, the infants learned to solve the problems by applying the same tactics their teachers applied in similar situations. For this reason, teachers need to give the infants a chance to sort out the solutions on their own. At the same time, when the infants repeat the same experiences over and over again, the conflict actually plays a role in developing a more intimate relationship with other infants. Therefore, looking at this matter in the long run, it is necessary for teachers to guide the infants to create positive bonds through problem solving.