What is Social-Emotional Development? Social-emotional development in preschoolers refers to the ability to communicate feelings, wishes, and intentions of oneself and others (Dunn, Bretherton, & Munn, 1987; Dunn, 2000) It is an imperative skill which involves social awareness and social referencing, where children are able to comprehend and appreciate situations that cause them to feel certain emotions (Camras & Sachs, 1991; Mumme & Fernald, 2003) This important skills in early childhood development allows children to understand their own emotions and the intentions of others (Tomasello & Rakoczy, 2003)

Social-emotional development in young children consists of: The ability to express themselves emotionally Important in social interactions Appropriate labeling of expression of child’s emotions and its effect on child’s behavior (cause and consequences) The ability to understand emotions Read emotional cues Make sense of his / her own emotions Being able to understand their own emotions and emotions of others will allow the child to use emotions as a way to communicate how they feel to others Linked to children’s verbal ability and theory-of-mind The ability to regulate emotions Fundamental in the forming of social relationships with peers during social interactions Has been shown to be an important predictor of healthy school adjustment and academic success Ackerman & Izard, 2004; Ashiabi, 2000; Denham, 1998; 2003; Dunn, Bretherton, & Munn, 1987; Dunn, 2000; Ffine, Izard, Mostow, Trentacosta, & Ackerman, 2003; Saltali & Deniz, 2010; Schultz, Izard, Ackerman, & Youngstrom, 2001

Current emphasis on children’s academic performance continues to overshadow the importance of children’s social-emotional development for school readiness (Raver & Zigler, 1997; Raver, 2003) Over the past 20 years, research has shown that preschooler’s emotional and social skills are highly linked to their academic achievement and success in school Research has consistently found that young children who are emotionally well- adjusted have a significantly higher chance of early academic success longitudinally (Wentzel & Asher, 1995) Academic achievement, in the long term, is built on a strong foundation of young children’s emotional and social skills (Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1997; O’Neil, et al., 1997; Webster-Straton, Reid, & Stoolmiller, 2008) Social-Emotional Development & School Readiness

Development of Social-Emotional Curriculum A curriculum that aims to facilitate the development of preschooler’s social and emotional skills, was developed by a team of developmental and educational psychologists (from TP and the U.S.) and early childhood educators (from Chengdu, China) This curriculum involved the use of an interactive technological tool (i.e., iPad application on emotions)to aid in teaching social- emotional skills to young children

Development of Social-Emotional Curriculum A total of four preschool teachers participated in this social-emotional curriculum training program They incorporated the iPad emotion training software into their curriculum daily 5 days program; 30 minutes/day teaching about emotions

Social-Emotional Training Program To test the efficacy of the curriculum: Group A: 80 children were given iPad social-emotional curriculum Group B: 80 children were exposed to the typically taught class (no social-emotional curriculum) Changes in the pre- to post-test scores between Group A vs. Group B were compared

Social-Emotional Training Program All children were given an internationally established, research based assessment that examined early emotion skills Pre-test (both Group A & Group B)   Intervention Program (Group A)  Post-test (Group A & Group B) Changes in the pre- to post-intervention skills of children who received the intervention program was compared to children who did not receive the intervention program

Children’s Performance on Emotion Task

Drawings after Intervention