The study purposed to examine a relationship with young children's emotional regulation skills, child-teacher relationships and peer competence. The subjects were 211 five-year-old kindergarten children. The Emotional Regulation Skills Scale, Teacher-...
The study purposed to examine a relationship with young children's emotional regulation skills, child-teacher relationships and peer competence. The subjects were 211 five-year-old kindergarten children. The Emotional Regulation Skills Scale, Teacher-Child Relationship Scale. and Peer Competence Scale were all completed by teachers. Data were analyzed by means of Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple regression analyses. The major findings are as follows: First, children who have better emotional regulation skills for themselves and others excel more in peer competence, specifically involving sociality, pro-sociability and initiatives. Secondly, children who are on closer terms and in less conflicts with their teachers are better at competently dealing with their peers. Thirdly, overall peer competence is most greatly influenced by the child's emotional regulation skills toward others, then followed by the order of self-regulating skills, dependency and intimacy. The importance of teachers' guidance on children's emotional regulation and close child-teacher relationships which enhance young children's peer competence is discussed.