Arents’ and teachers’ opinions of pre-school children’s social problem- solving and behavioural problems

Abstract

The aim of our research is (1) to shed light on what parents (mothers and fathers) and teachers of 4- to 6-year-olds think of these children’s social problem-solving and their difficulties in terms of problem-solving, adaptability and prosocial behaviour; (2) to study any correlation between the aspects under examination; and (3) to examine the connection between one’s opinion about social problem-solving and some family background variables (parents’ education, the most frequent free-time family activity, who the child lives with, etc). We used three questionnaires (a modified version of Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised by D’Zurilla et al., 2002; Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire by Goodman, 2001; Conners Parent/Teacher Rating Scale-Revised by Conners, 1997) and a background questionnaire (Family Background Variables, 2013) in our research. All three questionnaires have good reliability and validity indexes. Based on the results, parents and teachers have different opinions in almost all aspects under examination (positive and negative approach to problem-solving, display of negative feelings, difficulties in adaptability, prosocial behaviour, oppositional problems, and emotional stability), and there is also a difference between how mothers and fathers rated most of the factors studied. Contrary to previous research in the field, it is not teachers who have the most negative opinion but fathers. It is they, followed by teachers, who rate girls and boys differently, and there is no significant difference in terms of how mothers rate children of different sexes. The combined variation of family background variables is lower for fathers and mothers than for teachers, who most often refer to the composition of the family (who the child lives with) with regard to each and every factor. It is the background variables that account for the negative attitude and the display of negative emotions in the case of all three parties. The findings of our research are crucial in terms of developing a proposed programme for the enhancement of social problem-solving for pre-school children.