Module 3: Interviews with Administrative Staff

          I’m currently conducting my field experience at a child care center. For Module 3, I had the opportunity to conduct my interviews with the center’s administrative staff. During my time there, I had the chance to interview the director and assistant director regarding social-emotional development. The director has been working at this center for 23 years. The assistant director has been working at this particular center for 10 years. Both staff members were able to give me their opinions on my area of interest. I asked the following questions regarding my topics: How do teachers influence children’s social-emotional development? What benefits do high quality centers have on social-emotional development? What factors impede proper social-emotional development? I was also able to observe a number of their daily activities and their interactions with the teachers, children, and parents.

          Throughout my observation and interviews, I was able to gain a number of insights regarding social-emotional development during the preschool years. One of the main insights I gained is the important role that teachers play in children’s social emotional development. The director explained, “I feel it’s important to let children interact with others and express their emotions in a social atmosphere but teach them how to do it in an appropriate way.”  Teachers have the responsibility of creating social learning experiences that will develop these skills. Children greatly learn from their environment and the social interactions they have with the people around them. Teachers also serve as role models that show children how to treat others with respect, how to behave in a social context, and how to appropriately express feelings and ideas. A second insight I gained is that high quality centers set higher standards for their early childhood educators. The assistant director explained, “In a quality daycare we expect more from our teachers. It is not just about watching children and interacting with them when needed. We expect teachers to use their early childhood education background to maintain a positive and caring learning atmosphere for all children”. By setting high standards and expecting more out of their teachers, high quality day care centers ensure that young children receive the social learning experiences necessary for proper social-emotional development. A third insight I gained is that there are a number of factors that impede proper social-emotional development. Some of these factors include the following: unsafe school and home environments, uneducated teachers and assistants, high turnover rates, and negative interactions between teachers and children.  According to the assistant director, “Having a safe, healthy, and clean environment and hiring well educated/trained teachers positively impact young children’s ability to succeed socially and emotionally”. High quality centers and well educated early childhood teachers are essential for young children’s social-emotional development.