The main purpose of this study is to explore the process of young children’s peer relationship and its change based on their peer status and social network in the mixed-aged classroom during free play activities. To do this, this study set up severa...
The main purpose of this study is to explore the process of young children’s peer relationship and its change based on their peer status and social network in the mixed-aged classroom during free play activities. To do this, this study set up several research questions as follow.
1. What is the nature of peer relationship based on young children’s peer status in the mixed-aged classroom?
2. What is the process of peer relationship and its change based on young children’s peer status and social network in the mixed-aged classroom?
Participants were 21 children who were 4 and 5 years old in the mixed aged classroom at a day care center located in Y city, Gyeongsangbuk-do. They had been observed everyday in the classroom for 5 months from October, 2015 to February, 2016. This study used peer nomination of sociometrics for analysing young children’s peer status and social network in the classroom. Observation is the main method for gathering data in this study including field notes, video recording, and interviews. All of the data was recorded and transcribed into the field notes for further analysis.
This study showed some characteristics of peer relationship based on young children’s peer status in the mixed-aged classroom as follows.
First, the popular child had some friends as followers who always were nearby the popular child and made him/her a main character of play activities. The average child was cooperative with younger children and girls in the mixed-aged classroom and played a role of expanding the game by going along with friends. Also, the average child maintained mutual friendship by sharing information and when conflicts occurred with friends, he/she avoided the situation. The ignored child hung around near the popular child and he/she often was ignored by peers. The ignored child interacted with equal relationship by approaching children with mutual relationship. The rejected child did not respond to interests from friends and his/her playing alone was often observed. The rejected child interfered play by talking in nonsense, which was not accepted by peers. The controversial child was likable to children, being interested in everywhere and reacting to everything, whereas he/she expressed interest with interruption for leading a play arbitrarily and agreed with peers. He/she also kept the play going by positive interaction with peers.
Second, peer relationship and its change based on young children’s peer status and its changes in their social network were dynamic. Specifically, classification of the peer groups of social network in the mixed-aged classroom became solid gradually by young children’s gender and age, and it changes dynamically revolving around the popular child. The regular child and the controversial child took a role of connecting children in age and gender in the classroom. In addition, cohesion among children became strong in closed groups when the social network of the peer groups changed. The popular child was in the center of the entire network in the classroom. The change in the popular child’s social network can reinforce solidarity of peer groups and expand networks of surrounding children. The average child played a role of an intermediary along with the controversial child in the entire network. The average child played with children with mutual relationship equally, not forcing or leading them but maintaining the relationship. The neglected child’s network was affected by the popular child. The neglected child needed intervention for a network to expand relationship among peers. The rejected child’s network was also affected by the popular child, and when the popular child left, his/her network tended to be shrunken. Peer status increased as the rejected child and the popular child formed and maintained mutual relationship and he/she hold the same power as the popular child had. However, the reason why the children kept rejected among peers was unclear. The controversial child was an intermediary in the entire network in the classroom. If the role of an intermediary is used properly, the network of the neglected child and the rejected child can be expanded in the classroom, which the child will be enable to play in a team without separated in the classroom.
The results of this study revealed the process of structural changes and the nature of peer relationship in the mixed-aged classroom by examining the characteristics of peer relationship based on peer status and social network in the mixed-aged classroom. And this study broadened understanding of the peer relationship by looking at the social network and the peer relationship based on each peer status. Furthermore, the results can be utilized as basic data for a teacher to intervene effectively helping a child who has a difficulty with peers, and it is expected that this study can bring up possibility of various approach method using social network analysis for the future study.
Key words: peer relationship, peer status, social network,
mixed-aged classroom