TEACHERS' STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING YOUNG CHILDREN'S SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY AT TKIT ASH SHIDDIQIYYAH BERJAN
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the strategies used by teachers to support young children’s social-emotional skills at TKIT Ash Shiddiqiyyah Berjan. The study employed a descriptive qualitative research approach involving two teachers and 24 Kindergarten B children aged approximately 5–6 years. Data were collected from November 20 to 25, 2023 through observations of children’s learning activities and interviews with the two teachers responsible for the observed class. The researcher served as the primary research instrument, supported by observation and interview guidelines. Data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis, while data validity was examined through technique triangulation by comparing observation and interview findings. The results identified four main strategies used by teachers: role playing, habituation, songs, and classroom seating arrangements. Role playing provided opportunities for children to interact and communicate through contextual activities, such as acting as sellers and buyers in a market-themed activity. Habituation was implemented through queuing, hadith memorization, the use of “sorry,” “please,” and “thank you,” and cooperative activities. Songs, particularly the Javanese song Sugeng Enjing, were used to introduce social, emotional, and cultural values, while rotating seating arrangements provided opportunities for children to interact with different peers. The study contributes an overview of how simple and culturally relevant practices can be integrated with religious and social values in an Islamic early childhood education setting. The findings imply that teachers can embed social-emotional learning within play, daily routines, songs, and classroom management rather than treating it as a separate learning activity. Further research involving multiple institutions and quantitative or mixed-method approaches is needed to examine these practices more broadly.
Keywords: early childhood education; social-emotional skills; teaching strategies; role-playing; habituation.
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References
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