Literature Review
Social and Emotional Development of Five and Six Year Olds
Before I could progress any further with my action research idea on teaching kindergarteners to resolve their social conflicts independently, I knew I needed to learn more about the developmental capabilities/tendencies of kindergarteners to see if this concept was going to even be feasible for five and six year olds. Therefore, I turned to literature to investigate further about the social and emotional development and capabilities of kindergarteners.
The literature I read on early childhood development confirmed that my students social behaviors that I had been observing in the classroom were completely normal and expected for children at their stage in development. As children transition from home to school, there becomes a greater emphasis on peer relationships. However, as children become more social, play becomes more cooperative and this brings opportunities for conflict (Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010). It is common for children in early childhood education programs to experience conflicts with other children over toys, relationships, ideas, space, power, and incomplete understanding (Finch, 2008). Another source of literature told me that children at age five and six are rule followers and often become tattle tales if they see others not following the rules (Seefeldt & Barbour, 1990).
I learned from the literature that at five years old, children are beginning to be able to express their feelings in socially accepted ways. They are starting to understand the emotions they are feeling and are able to attach words to express the emotions they are feeling. They are capable of "using their words" to discuss a problem (Church, 2002). It is at this stage in their development that they begin to learn how to wait their turn, share, and lose in games they desperately want to win. They are learning to control these feelings and wait to have their needs met (Seefeldt & Barbour, 1990). During early school years, children are able to engage in social problem solving and they learn to substitute grabbing, hitting, and biting with persuasion and compromise (Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010).
Teaching Conflict Resolution to Students
The literature validated to me that five and six year olds are developmentally capable of verbalizing their feelings to others and problem solving so I felt that I could proceed with my plan on teaching them how to solve social conflicts on their own. Since I didn't have much prior knowledge or experience on ways to teach students to solve their problems independently, I decided to do more research on this topic. Some of the literature I came across was on conflict resolution programs that had been implemented in the classroom, studies done in classrooms on the impact conflict resolution programs on early elementary age students and conflict resolution strategies that are commonly taught to early elementary age students. This literature gave me a variety of ideas on how to approach teaching conflict resolution to my students.
In all of the literature I read, students were taught a method to use to solve conflicts and then students were able to practice using the method. The most common conflict resolution strategy I came across in the literature contained steps such as: 1. Define the problem 2. Brainstorm solutions together 3. Pick a solution together and try it 4. Evaluate the solution they choose.The literature dicussed how early elementary age students will usually need assistance in engaging in these steps at first but after they have had the opportunity to practice them, they will eventually be able to engage in these steps independently (Carlsson-Paige & Levin,1993 ; Church, 2002; Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010).
Another conflict resolution strategy that is commonly taught to students is the I-statement. The I-statement is a simpler strategy because it only involves one step. With this strategy when a student is being bothered by another student, the student being bothered is supposed to say, " I am _______ when you ______. I'd like you to__________". The first blank is supposed to be filled with the emotion the student is feeling, the second blank is supposed to be filled with the action the other student is doing that is bothering the student, and the third blank is supposed to be filled with what the student would like the student bothering them to do instead. This I-statement sentence frame is given to the students so they have an idea of how to communicate how they feel on their own to the person bothering them and what they would like the person bothering them to do instead which helps direct the person bothering the student to an action they should engage in instead. This teaches students an alternative problem solving strategy than physically hurting a student bothering them or going to the teacher to solve their problem for them (Ellison, 2001).
Before I could progress any further with my action research idea on teaching kindergarteners to resolve their social conflicts independently, I knew I needed to learn more about the developmental capabilities/tendencies of kindergarteners to see if this concept was going to even be feasible for five and six year olds. Therefore, I turned to literature to investigate further about the social and emotional development and capabilities of kindergarteners.
The literature I read on early childhood development confirmed that my students social behaviors that I had been observing in the classroom were completely normal and expected for children at their stage in development. As children transition from home to school, there becomes a greater emphasis on peer relationships. However, as children become more social, play becomes more cooperative and this brings opportunities for conflict (Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010). It is common for children in early childhood education programs to experience conflicts with other children over toys, relationships, ideas, space, power, and incomplete understanding (Finch, 2008). Another source of literature told me that children at age five and six are rule followers and often become tattle tales if they see others not following the rules (Seefeldt & Barbour, 1990).
I learned from the literature that at five years old, children are beginning to be able to express their feelings in socially accepted ways. They are starting to understand the emotions they are feeling and are able to attach words to express the emotions they are feeling. They are capable of "using their words" to discuss a problem (Church, 2002). It is at this stage in their development that they begin to learn how to wait their turn, share, and lose in games they desperately want to win. They are learning to control these feelings and wait to have their needs met (Seefeldt & Barbour, 1990). During early school years, children are able to engage in social problem solving and they learn to substitute grabbing, hitting, and biting with persuasion and compromise (Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010).
Teaching Conflict Resolution to Students
The literature validated to me that five and six year olds are developmentally capable of verbalizing their feelings to others and problem solving so I felt that I could proceed with my plan on teaching them how to solve social conflicts on their own. Since I didn't have much prior knowledge or experience on ways to teach students to solve their problems independently, I decided to do more research on this topic. Some of the literature I came across was on conflict resolution programs that had been implemented in the classroom, studies done in classrooms on the impact conflict resolution programs on early elementary age students and conflict resolution strategies that are commonly taught to early elementary age students. This literature gave me a variety of ideas on how to approach teaching conflict resolution to my students.
In all of the literature I read, students were taught a method to use to solve conflicts and then students were able to practice using the method. The most common conflict resolution strategy I came across in the literature contained steps such as: 1. Define the problem 2. Brainstorm solutions together 3. Pick a solution together and try it 4. Evaluate the solution they choose.The literature dicussed how early elementary age students will usually need assistance in engaging in these steps at first but after they have had the opportunity to practice them, they will eventually be able to engage in these steps independently (Carlsson-Paige & Levin,1993 ; Church, 2002; Weinstein, Romano, & Mignano, 2010).
Another conflict resolution strategy that is commonly taught to students is the I-statement. The I-statement is a simpler strategy because it only involves one step. With this strategy when a student is being bothered by another student, the student being bothered is supposed to say, " I am _______ when you ______. I'd like you to__________". The first blank is supposed to be filled with the emotion the student is feeling, the second blank is supposed to be filled with the action the other student is doing that is bothering the student, and the third blank is supposed to be filled with what the student would like the student bothering them to do instead. This I-statement sentence frame is given to the students so they have an idea of how to communicate how they feel on their own to the person bothering them and what they would like the person bothering them to do instead which helps direct the person bothering the student to an action they should engage in instead. This teaches students an alternative problem solving strategy than physically hurting a student bothering them or going to the teacher to solve their problem for them (Ellison, 2001).
The conflict resolution literature I read about also discussed ways to reinforce and practice these strategies. One way to get students to practice the strategies is by creating a designated area in the room for students to go when they are having a conflict with someone and solve the problem there. It can be called the "Conflict Resolution Circle" area. At this conflict resolution area, there is a big plastic ring to symbolize the "Conflict Resolution Circle". Students in conflict will grasp the ring while they are talking about solving the problem. The conflict resolution strategies can be written out with visuals and placed in this area to remind students how to go about solving a conflict This same study also discusses having the students create a "Peaceful Being". The teacher would prepare a life sized cut out gingerbread man on white paper for the students then introduce it to the students as the "Peaceful Being". The teacher then asks the students to name nice/not nice things they do for their friends. Students may mention sharing, giving compliments, taking turns, etc. For each not nice thing a student mentions, the teacher asks the student to think of a nice alternative to that not nice action. The nice things mentioned by students are recorded on the "Peaceful Being". When the "Peaceful Being" is filled up with several nice things students do for their friends, it is hung up on the wall for students to reference and remember to do a nice thing for their friends instead of a not nice action (Heydenberk, W. , & Heydenberk, R., 2007).
Another way to get students to reinforce the conflict resolution strategies after they are taught them is to have a whole "class meeting time" where the teacher asks students that were witnessed using the problem solving strategies to share with the class the social conflict they encountered and how they solved it. This gives these students a chance to reflect on their actions, acknowledge their success in resolving conflicts, and gives other students ideas about how they might solve their problems An additional way to reinforce and get the students to practice the conflict strategies is to bring "Problem Puppets" into the classroom. The "Problem Puppets" can be used in puppet shows, where the puppets encounter a social conflict similar to those the students may encounter and the students must help the "Problem Puppets" think of a way to solve their conflict. After the students come up with ideas on how the puppets should solve their problem, the puppets must solve their conflict using one of the ideas the students suggested. Then later, if the teacher notices his or her students facing a social conflict similar to one role played in a puppet show, the teacher can advise the students to solve it like the puppets solved it. Students can also role play conflicts and solutions with the puppets on their own. More ways to reinforce and practice the conflict resolution strategies include reading stories to the students about characters that encounter social conflicts and stopping at the conflict in the stories to have a discussion with the students about how the characters should solve the problem (Carlsson-Paige, & Levin,1993).
In order to get students to practice the 4 step conflict resolution strategy (1. Define the problem 2. Brainstorm solutions together 3. Pick a solution together and try it 4. Evaluate the solution they choose) another resources suggests writing each step on a card with a corresponding image illustrating the step then having the students sequence the cards in the right order (Stevahn & Johnson, 2000).
Another resource talked about getting students to practice the conflict resolution strategies by assigning certain students the job of a "mediator". The "mediator's" job would be to help students in conflict resolve their problem by making sure the students in conflict are calm, are committed to solving the problem, taking students through the problem solving steps and ensuring at the end all people in conflict are committed to the resolution and doing their part in the resolution (Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T., 2004)
The literature I read convinced me that when conflict resolution is taught in the classroom it can be highly beneficial to students and produce positive results .Students have been proven to respond well to the programs. This is indicated in W. Heydenberk and R. Heydenberk article, "More than Manners: Conflict Resolution in Primary Level Classrooms",
"Research shows that conflict resolution programs not only reduce aggression and violence in communities and their schools, but also provide ‘‘life long decision making skills’’ and enhance the self-esteem of students. A study conducted by the Center for Law-Related Education found that most conflict resolution programs reduce the amount of time teachers spend on conflicts, improve school climate, enhance problem-solving skills and self-control among students (p. 120.)"
Due to this, I decided that teaching conflict resolution to my class would not only help me have more instructional time but help my students to develop social skills and problem solving skills they could use for the rest of their lives.
In order to get students to practice the 4 step conflict resolution strategy (1. Define the problem 2. Brainstorm solutions together 3. Pick a solution together and try it 4. Evaluate the solution they choose) another resources suggests writing each step on a card with a corresponding image illustrating the step then having the students sequence the cards in the right order (Stevahn & Johnson, 2000).
Another resource talked about getting students to practice the conflict resolution strategies by assigning certain students the job of a "mediator". The "mediator's" job would be to help students in conflict resolve their problem by making sure the students in conflict are calm, are committed to solving the problem, taking students through the problem solving steps and ensuring at the end all people in conflict are committed to the resolution and doing their part in the resolution (Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T., 2004)
The literature I read convinced me that when conflict resolution is taught in the classroom it can be highly beneficial to students and produce positive results .Students have been proven to respond well to the programs. This is indicated in W. Heydenberk and R. Heydenberk article, "More than Manners: Conflict Resolution in Primary Level Classrooms",
"Research shows that conflict resolution programs not only reduce aggression and violence in communities and their schools, but also provide ‘‘life long decision making skills’’ and enhance the self-esteem of students. A study conducted by the Center for Law-Related Education found that most conflict resolution programs reduce the amount of time teachers spend on conflicts, improve school climate, enhance problem-solving skills and self-control among students (p. 120.)"
Due to this, I decided that teaching conflict resolution to my class would not only help me have more instructional time but help my students to develop social skills and problem solving skills they could use for the rest of their lives.