Dr. Harwood provided a synthesis of several research projects she has conducted on children's perceptions of teasing & the impacts on development and classroom life.
Disha NEET Physics Guide for classes 11 and 12.pdf
Teasing in the Early Years: Impacts on Development
1. The Early Years Conference
Vancouver
February 2 – 4, 2012
Teasing in the Early Years: The
Impact on Children's Learning and
Development
By
Debra Harwood
2. Goals & Objectives of the Session
Collectively construct an understanding of what
constitutes teasing & understand the impact of teasing
on social-emotional competence
Develop a framework on how this form of behaviour can
be differentiated from other behaviours such as bullying.
Explore varied strategies to address teasing within early
years’ programs
Understand how children’s drawings can be used to
explore their experiences with teasing
3. Friends Matter
• Emotional
support
• Development of
understanding of
others (TOM)
• Moral
understanding
5. Why is Thinking About Teasing
Important?
“Kids who are taunted about their emotions
may begin to deny their authentic feelings
about many events”.
Freeman (2002), Easing the Teasing
6. Yes-Teasing No-not teasing
Form of social interaction Bullying—”a dynamic of
unhealthy interaction…a
Intentional provocation form of repeated
aggression used from a
Physical, verbal, or social position of power”
Hostile & hurtful or fun and Physical, verbal, or social
playful
Escalating in
Accompanied by some clue occurrence/severity
that indicates ‘this is a Olweus—definition most
tease’—form of escape often applied
Comments on something
relevant to the target
7. Positives to Peer Teasing
Testing of social relations
‘One of the gang’-
camaraderie
Demonstration of affection
Help a friend save face
Some children report
experiencing more friendly
teasing than hurtful
teasing*
8. How can we use the
research to inform
practice…
9. Latest Study
Narrative & Visual Methodology
Participants
111 children in pre-kindergarten to grade 2
& 3 (47=F; 64=M)
From 5 different schools in varied cities
within one Board of Education
5 teachers (4=F; 1=M)
87 children drew 89 pictures
10. General Findings
Multiple forms of teasing-not just a form of verbal
interaction.
Teasing depicted as a personal and intimate encounter
between two individuals familiar with one another.
Indicators used to determine teasing.
Content of voice bubbles reflects teasing focus on
appearances for girls (40%) compared to boys (14%).
Boys more likely to tease in terms of falsehoods and
physical acts (34%, 33%) vs. (15%, 20%) for girls.
Both genders incorporated name-calling as form of teasing.
11. Males Breakdown of Form of Teasing
9%
6%
31%
18%
Character Teasing
Taunting
Social Norm
Trickery
36% Other
Females Breakdown of Form of Teasing
7%
8%
31%
18% Character teasing
Taunting
Social Norm
Trickery
Other
36%
16. Grade 2 Female Describes Incident of Trickery
Drawings provide
information on the
context, personal
experiences, and
many forms of
teasing.
17. Grade 1 Male Depicts Taunting by 2 boys with a desired toy
Drawings illustrate
gender variances in
teasing experiences as
well as qualitative
differences in the
drawings themselves
18. Grade 2 Girl Teased by
Boy (“You are stupid”)
Insight into children’s
world of teasing
21. Children's Differentiations between Teasing and Bullying
70
60
Percentage of Narrated Responses
50
40
30
20
10
0
Horseplay Intended Harm Perceived Harm Reciprocity Relationship status Repetition
22.
23. Implications & Educational
Importance
Schools: An important and informative role in young
children’s early peer socialization & development.
Teachers: Key position to influence children’s
understanding of teasing.
No-teasing policies largely ineffective.
Need to foster children’s understanding of the many
constructs that differentiate teasing from bullying
and develop teaching strategies that effectively
address teasing within the classroom/school context.
25. Connecting with Literature
Puppets, songs, posters, program expectations, books,
poetry, pictures--can help children identify emotions &
make connections in the classroom
Boastful Bear; Riley Rat; Timid Tiger; Playful Puppy
[my characters]
I Miss Franklin P. Shuckles
26. Go Inside Your Bubble
Imagine being inside
your bubble!
Can you hear anything?
Can anything hurt you?
27. TALK INSIDE YOUR HEAD
Is it true?
So what?
I’M A GREAT
Dog!!
Whose opinion matters?
And compliment yourself
(I am a great ______)
Stop, think about
options, plan response
28. The Role of the Educator
Foster self-esteem in children
Encourage friendships
Be observant (most teases occur out of adult sight)
Help children manage and express anger appropriately
Label and use the word ‘TEASE’
Help children make ‘I’ statements
Teach and model ‘self-talk’
Provide multiple strategies for dealing with teasing
Provide multiple opportunities to practice strategies
Tattling versus getting help
29. In the classroom
Survey the class, parents, other educators
Discussion circles
Express understandings/experiences through drawing
Role-play
Puppet scripts
Literature
Tease free zone
Social-emotional curriculum
Second Step; ROE/Seeds of empathy; Tools for Life
Violence prevention programs
30. There is no silver bullet!
Educators can be
intentional
Plan the environment
Be aware of varied
strategies
Model, Implement,
revisit, practice
31. Summary
Teasing is complex
Young children tease
Siblings are particularly capable
Most teasing of young children is hurtful
Various strategies to respond to teasing
that must be practiced
Classrooms/programs must be ready!
32. Selected References
Dunn, J. (1993). Young children's close relationships: Beyond
attachment. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
Freedman, J. S. (2002). Easing the teasing. Chicago:
Contemporary books.
Keltner, D., Capps, L., Kring, A. M., Young, R. C., & Heerey, E.
A. (2001). Just teasing: A conceptual analysis and empirical
review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(2), 229-248.
Kowalski, R. M. (2003). Complaining, teasing, and other
annoying behaviors. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what
we can do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publisher.
Friends provide a basis of emotional support for young children – emotional quality is closely linked to the games and activities undertaken by young childrenBeginnings of understanding of others and how they think, and feel (TOM)Moral understanding-susan Isaacs- as children’s worlds expand away from home basic understandings of right/wrong are often fostered through friendships
From: Centre on the social & emotional foundations for early learning-promote positive peer social interactionsPart of overall SEL curriculum-Target 3 levels of this curriculum byCreating a positive classroom cultureFostering dialogue around teasingPromoting effective strategies for responding to teasing
E.g. helping friend save face—Johnny spills his juice at lunch table—friend says to others wow isn’t that incredible Johnny caused an earthquake-just look what it did to his juice. Everyone laughs.Source-*
Family-referred to cousins
No gender difference as the pattern of distribution across the various forms of teasing is similar or where teasing generally occurred.Differences tended to reside in the ‘content’ of teases.
· All teachers used “situational qualifiers” to differentiate between teasing and other forms of behaviour · Reference to multiple factors· Including intended harm, perceived harm, reciprocity, relationship status, degree of repetition, playful nature of teasing· Children used few constructs in comparison to teachers to make differentiations · Overall: Teachers’ personal history of teasing impacted perceptions and dispositions towards peer teasing in the classroom or school context· Four out of five (4/5) teachers reported early experiences with teasing · Intervention involves complex decision-making process· Student-teacher relationship, personal opinion, degree of empathy, perception of severity and hurtfulness, teacher experience, teacher gender· Lack of formal training, PD, & opportunities· Mix of Proactive (preventative) and reactive (intervention) strategies used · (religious based curriculum used as both)