Programme-based experiences of preschool teachers regarding support of children's social skills

Providing social skills to children through an appropriate educational programme positively affects their overall development. The aim of this study was to examine the views and experiences of 13 Turkish preschool teachers working with 5-6-year-old children regarding support of children's social skills. An interview protocol was used to gather the views and self-reported practices of teachers, as well as a document review codebook was used to analyze the content of teachers' educational plans. The teachers were found to place importance on their educational programmes and regularly include social skills activities within their plans, while considering programme-based factors like gains and indicators and materials. However, the content of teachers' plans was considerably different from their self-reported practices regarding organization of the learning environment, interval of social skills activities, family involvement, and assessment. Finally, participating teachers were found to be deficient in effective planning of educational plans for promoting children's social skills.