Aggressive Behavior of Children in a Daycare Center

Abstract

Abstract:The present work examined aggressive behavior in a sample of children attending a child daycare center in relation to their teachers' behaviors and the types of activities proposed by them. Four teachers and their respective students were observed for an average of six sessions, during which they performed activities, which could be free (without instruction) or guided. The most frequent behaviors were pushing/pulling, fighting over objects/taking an object from someone else, and kicking/throwing objects, with 77.61% of the aggressive behavior occurring during the free activities. An association between free activities and aggressive behavior was found. The categories kicking/throwing, fighting over objects/taking an object from someone else and slapping the face were associated with free activity. These results indicate the need for more attention directed toward children's free activities, providing them with adequate space for play and diverse opportunities for exploration and object manipulation.Keywords: aggressiveness, early childhood education, teacher-student interaction Comportamento Agressivo de Crianças em um Centro de Educação InfantilResumo: O presente trabalho examinou, em uma amostra de crianças de uma instituição de educação infantil, a relação entre comportamentos agressivos e os tipos de atividade propostos pelas educadoras. Quatro educadoras e seus respectivos alunos foram observados, em média, por seis sessões, durante as quais realizavam atividades que podiam ser livres (sem instrução) ou dirigidas. Os comportamentos mais frequentes foram os de puxar/empurrar, disputar/tirar objeto do outro e chutar/jogar objetos, sendo que 77,61% das ocorrências de comportamento agressivo foram observadas nas atividades livres. Houve associação entre as atividades livres e comportamentos agressivos. As categorias chutar/jogar objetos, disputar/tirar objetos dos outros e tapas no rosto foram as que apresentaram associação com a atividade livre. Esses resultados apontam a necessidade de se dispensar maior atenção às atividades livres das crianças, propiciando-lhes espaço adequado para o brincar e oportunidades variadas de exploração e manuseio de objetos. Palavras-chave: agressividade, educação infantil, interação professor-aluno Comportamiento Agresivo de Niños en una GuarderíaResumen: El presente trabajo examinó comportamiento agresivo en una muestra de niños que frecuentan una guardería en relación a conductas de sus maestros, así como los tipos de actividades propuestas por ellos. Observamos cuatro profesores y sus respectivos estudiantes, en promedio seis sesiones durante las cuales se realizaron actividades, que podrían ser libres (sin instrucción) o guiadas. Los comportamientos más frecuentes fueran empujar/halar, disputar objetos/tomar objeto de otra persona, y patadas/tirar objetos, con 77,61% de la conducta agresiva ocurriendo durante actividades libres. Una asociación entre actividades libres y comportamiento agresivo fue detectada. Las categorías patadas/tirar, disputar objetos/tomar obje...

Prosocial Behavior in Preschoolers: Effects of Early Socialization Experiences With Peers

“…However, previous studies found discrepant results in this regard because children who attended daycare are generally considered more socially competent, but it is not so clear whether they are also more prosocial than those who did not attend it ( Erel et al, 2000 ; Belsky et al, 2007 ; Ansari, 2018 ; Bleiker et al, 2019 ). At the same time, daycare attendees may also be more involved in and exposed to aggressive behaviors among peers, as children exhibit their peak of physical aggression generally between 18 and 30 months of age ( Huston et al, 2015 ; Pingault et al, 2015 ; Filho et al, 2016 ; Ansari, 2018 ). Observing other children’s aggressive behavior has a noticeable effect, as children tend to imitate it.…”

“…To date, it is unclear how long these effects of daycare may influence subsequent behavior, i.e., whether the experience of daycare can be considered a protective or risk factor regarding different social skills ( Filho et al, 2016 ; Muñoz et al, 2017 ; Ansari, 2018 ). In addition, it is important to note that most research has been conducted through questionnaires completed by teachers and parents, and there is a lack of observational research on the prosocial behaviors that children exhibit every day during free-play social interactions with their peers ( Conte et al, 2018 ; Bouchard et al, 2020 ).…”

Learning and Parenting in Spanish Environments: Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Self-Concept

“…Aggression increases in preschool years, with a prevalence of 77% [46]. This aggression is usually triggered by a conflict of interests between people, and it tends to be used as an intimidation tool [8].…”