Influence of Age and Gender in Acquiring Social Skills in Portuguese Preschool Education

doi:10.4236/psych.2014.52015

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Psychology

2014. Vol.5, No.2, 99-103

Published Online February 2014 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/psych) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.52015

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Influence of Age and Gender in Acquiring Social Skills

in Portuguese Preschool Education

Rosa Maria Silva Gomes, Anabela Sousa Pereira

Education Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Received December 20th, 2013; revised January 23rd, 2014; accepted February 18th, 2014

under the Creative Co mmons Attribution License, which per mits unrestricted u se, distribution , and reproduction

in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In accordance of the Creative Commons Attribu-

tion License all C opyrights © 20 14 are reserved fo r SCIRP and the o wner of the intellectual propert y Rosa Ma-

The specificity of educational contexts as mediators of social development through positive interactions is

critical to children’s involvement in the kindergarten and therefore for their holistic development. The

qualities of teacher-child interactions enhance the child’s self-esteem and autonomy, promoting peer ac-

ceptance and providing a successful learning experience. The purpose of this study was to investigate

whether the characteristic of gender and age are related to the acquisition of social skills of children at-

tending kindergarten in a portuguese-speaking environment. The sample is composed of 581 children, age

from 2 to 7 years old, who attended preschool education on average 18 months ago. Social Skills subscale

(EAS) and Behavior Problems (EPC) was applied to the “Behavioral Scale for Preschool-PKBSpt” (Gomes

& Pereira, 2012), Portuguese version of PKBS-2 (Merrell, 2002), Likert-type, four response levels, which

seeks to assess the social and emotional skills, and behavior problems in early childhood, with the partici-

pation of educators. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 17.0 for Windows. The

main results show that there are gender differences in the level of social skills. The girls reveal behaviors

based on Social Cooperation and Social Interaction. The boys show Attention Problems/Overactive and

Antisocial Behavior/Aggressive. Older children have the highest average level Social Cooperation and

Social Independence. In the dimensions of behavior problems, the youngest children (3 and 4 years) had

higher mean values, either in the factor Attention Problem/Overactive or the Antisocial/Aggressive. Older

children (6 years old) had statistically significant differences in the problems of the type Social With-

drawal and Anxiety-Somatic problems. The child’s gender and age variables are important factors and

should be included in educational practices, taking into account the development of social skills of chil-

dren attending in preschool. Promoting articulated and differentiated development can prevent maladap-

tive behaviors in young adults. Finally thoughts are given on the implications of this study in the level of

children’s involvement within their educational contexts.

Keywords: Social Skills; Problem Behavior; Child Psychology; Preschool Education; Education

Psychology

Introduction

The curriculum of Preschool Education in Portugal is go-

verned by the Curriculum Guidelines, which adopts a perspec-

tive focused on indications for Educators and not in anticipation

of learning to be performed by children. It assumes educators as

builders and managers of curriculum and outlines the episte-

mological principles that underlie the educational options for

educators, by proposing an integrated and open in different

areas of the curriculum. Personal and social development is one

of those areas that fall within the curriculum, not only as a ne-

cessity of children in this age group, but also as preparation for

future learning.

An analysis of learning preschool education’s impact in the

later development of children concludes that the learning done

at the level of Childhood Education is related to engagement in

the tasks and social skills (Del Prette & Del Prette, 2005). The

predispositions and feelings of the child contribute significantly

to expand their skills and give back success in learning. The

personal, social and emotional development is important (Tri-

anes, 2002) for the realization of children as people and for

their ability to be successful learners. In our concerted efforts to

raise the educational level of children it is of primary impor-

tance that we take into account how we support this develop-

ment, through informed, effective and cross-curricular practices

(Roberts, 2005). A study of Seçer, Çeliköz, Koçyiğit, Seçer, &

Kayılı (2010), to assess the relationship between social skills

and behavior problems through PKBS Merrell (2002) and cog-

nitive style and reflexivity-impulsivity by KRISP scale devel-

oped by Wright (1971), with 6-year-old children, attending

Preschool Education showed that children with impulsive cog-

nitive style show more behavior problems and children with

cognitive style of reflexivity show more social skills. These

studies show that impulsive children are less efficient than the

reflective level of social skills, such as social cooperation, so

R. M. S. GOMES, A. S. PEREIRA

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100

cial interaction and social autonomy.

In modern societies, we continue to witness directly or indi-

rectly, situations that demonstrate that many children grow in

contexts and situations that constitute threats to their psycho-

logical health. When facing stressful situations and risk in their

daily lives, they may develop emotional disorders and conduct

problems, becoming vulnerable. However, it is observed that

not all children who experience the same risk situations present

problems. On the contrary, some of them are able to adapt and

overcome these situations, demonstrating, among others, social

skills (Cecconello & Koller, 2000).

Social skills are learned and understood in given a situation

and encompass personal, situational and cultural dimensions

(Del Prette & Del Prette, 2001). To have a good repertoire of

social skills does not guarantee a socially responsible perfor-

mance by itself. Campbell (1995) considers that the initial be-

havior problems for children in the kindergarten remain rela-

tively stable and predicts not only problems in school but also

serious health and behavioral problems in adolescence, includ-

ing depression and anxiety.

In the case of negative social interactions, children tend to be

rejected among peers. This pattern of social behavior will trig-

ger a reaction from others according to the perceived default,

whether positive or negative. Study Domènech-Llaberia (2008)

found that physical aggression is the most common, followed

by verbal aggression and that aggression among peers is asso-

ciated with three-year old male children.

A study conducted in Brazil by Cecconello (2000), to as-

sess social competence and empathy in children (6 to 9 years

old), living in poverty, showed that girls are more socially

competent and more empathic than boys. Likewise, the most

empathetic children tend to be more socially responsible than

others. In general, the studies emphasized the importance of

these two characteristics as protective factors contributing to

resilience and adaptation, in situations of stress and vulnerabil-

ity. The girls prove to be more competent in the use of strate-

gies of conflict resolution, using significantly less often want to

retaliation or physical aggression (Walker, Irving, & Berthelsen,

2002; Gomes, Pereira, Abrantes, Inocêncio, Merrel, & An-

dreucci, 2011). The investigation (Simões & Sanches, 2006),

about age and gender in conflict resolution, with 3 to 14-year-

old children, showed that age has an influence on the strategies

used in conflict resolution and the older children have more

elaborate types of responses. For the authors, the strategies are

aggression, authority, social withdrawal and pro-social res-

ponses. Studies of Walker (2005), with 3 to 5-year-old children,

showed that children aged 4, typically developing, are able to

make inferences about the beliefs and desires of others, use this

information and interpret its behavior. The boys are seen as

more aggressive and girls as more tolerant, dialoguing and pro-

social, although the studies of Simões (2006) have not found a

significant effect of interpersonal conflict on gender differences.

Also the quality of interpersonal relationships among peers

seems to influence social development of children from early

ages.

Through positive interactions with peer groups in the early

years of life, children develop the best fit social skills such as

sensitivity, empathy, ability to engage in different contexts and

answer social problems (Lopes, Rutherford, Cruz, Mathur, &

Quinn, 2011). Poor interactions among peers, resulting in rejec-

tion, can trigger poor social, emotional, academic adjustment,

reflected even in adjustment problems in adulthood. Studies of

Asher & Coie (1990) show that those children from preschool

make their friendship choices based on observable behaviors.

The pairs showing positive behaviors establish positive interac-

tions, but the pairs showing negative behaviors are rejected and

are not choosen as partners. Children who are not accepted can

cause anger and aggression as a response to unfair treatment or

they may choose social isolation, as a result of anxiety and

social insecurity (Lopes et al., 2011).

The aim of this study was to evaluate if gender and age are

related to the acquisition of social skills of children attending

the preschool education, in Portuguese-speaking educational con-

texts.

Method

Parti cipa nt s

This research involved 581 children, female (52.3%) and

male (47.7%), aged 2 to 7, who attend Preschool Education in

public institutions (37.2%), private institutions of social soli-

darity—IPSS (34.6%) and private institutions (28.2%) on aver-

age for 18 months. Most educators who applied to the instru-

ment were female (99.7%), were on average 35 years with an

average age of 35, and had been practicing for an average of 10

years (s ee Table 1).

Measures

The Behavioral Scale for Preschool (PKBSpt) was adapted

for the Portuguese population by Gomes, Pereira & Merrell (200 9),

and validated by Gomes & Pereira (2014) from Preschool and

Kindergarten Behavior Scale, PKBS 2—Merrell (2002) and is

used to evaluate the social skills and problem behaviours of chi ld-

ren. The instruments contain 67 Likert-scale questions.

The children’s social skills were assessed using the Social

Skills Scale—EAS. It is a 29-item, explaining 53.47% of the

total variance and the overall value of the Cronbach’s alpha

coefficient was .95. The school seeks to assess the social and

emotional behaviors of children attending garden for children

aged between 3 and 6. The dimensions of the Social Coopera-

tion scale are a 12-item, which explains 38.2% of the variance

and the coefficient value of Cronbach’s alpha was .92. It as-

sesses behaviors of cooperation with peers, assertiveness and

self; Social Interaction is a 7-item, explaining 5.2% of the va-

riance and the coefficient value of Cronbach’s alpha was .76,

which evaluates respect, friendliness and courtesy pipelines

primarily for colleagues. The Social Independence factor is a

10-item, which explains 10.1% of the variance and the value of

Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .89. It assesses attitudes of

autonomy, adaptation and acceptance both among peers and

Table 1.

Sample distribution according to age and gender.

Years 2 3 4 5 6 7

Boys N 3 37 78 106 49 -

% 1.1 13.6 28.6 38.8 17.9

Girls N 0 52 75 126 45 1

% - 17.4 25.1 42.1 15.1 0.3

N (total) 3 89 153 239 94 1

% (total) 0.5 15.4 26.4 41.3 16.2 0.2

R. M. S. GOMES, A. S. PEREIRA

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101

between adults. Behavior problems were assessed by the Beha-

vior Problems Scale (EPC), a 38-item, which seeks to assess

the social and emotional behavior level of children attending

the kindergarten.

Behavior Problems Scale (EPC), the factors are distributed

by externalizing behavior problems (EPC’I) and internalizing

behavior problems (EPC’I). The EPC’E consists of factor Self-

centered/Explosive and it is a 6-item, explaining 55% of the

variance and Cronbach’s alpha value was .87; Factor Attention

Problem/Overactive is a 9-item explaining 5% of the variance

and Cronbach’s alpha value was .92;

Factor Antisocial/Aggressive is a 10-item explaining 5% of

the variance and Cronbach’s alpha value was .93.

Internalizing behavior problems (EPC’I) are constituted by-

Factor Social Withdrawal is a 6-item, explaining 45.08% of

variance, with the value of Cronb a c h’s alpha .85; Factor Anxiety/

Somatic Problems is a 7-item, explaining 10.22% of variance,

with the value of Cronbach’s alpha .83.The answers were given

taking into account a Likert-type, response options range from

0 (never) to 3 (often).

Procedure

The study was applied to a population of children attending

preschool, whose native language is Portuguese. The sampling

took place during the second quarter of 2009, in the educational

contexts of Portugal, Brazil and Cabo Verde, through anonym-

ous questionnaires and confidential self-report. For this purpose

a group of educators and/or monitors was formed according to

the reality of each country developing teaching activities in

Kindergarten which applied the EAS and EPC questionnaire

assessing children in their rooms in each of the items, supported

by observations made in the last three months, as indicated in

the questionnaire form.

Ethical issues were respected, participation was voluntary

and each questionnaire was accompanied by explanatory in-

formation of the objectives, the conditions of research, confi-

dentiality and anonymity of the data being secured. The SPSS

(Statistical Package for Social Sciences), version 17.0 for MS

Windows was used for data analysis.

Results

The results concerning the characterization of the target pop-

ulation, children age Preschool show a homogeneous distribu-

tion as a function of female (52.3%) and male (47.7%), with

ages ranging from 2 to 7 years (M = 4.58, SD = 0.96).

Geographically, these institutions are distributed in Portugal,

Brazil and Cabo Verde: in Portugal 39.9% of children attending

preschool in the district of Aveiro, 13.9% in the district of Porto

and 11.0% in the district Santarém, in Brazil, 23.4% attending

preschool located in Botucatu, State of São Paulo and 11.7%

attending in kindergarten in the different islands of Cabo Verde.

Most educators who applied to the instrument are on average

35 years old (M = 34.87, SD = 10.03), have been practicing for

an average of 10 years (M = 10.51, SD = 8.95) varying the

service time between 1 and 33 years. The recording of observa-

tions concerning the behavior of each child was produced

within the educational room (62%) and in the kindergarten

(38%).

If we consider the parametric correlation coefficient, Pearson

correlation between the EAS subscale and the gender and age

variables, we find that the positive associations are weak, but

significant (p ≤ .01), ranging between .165 and .217, in Social

Cooperation. We also found statistically significant differences

between Social Interaction and gender and Social Independence

although weaker (p ≤ .05) (see Table 2).

In the EPC subscale there were significant (p ≤ .01) weak

negative associations but between gender and the factors: At-

tention Problem/Overactive behavior and Antisocial/Aggressive.

The variable age of children also has a weak negative associa-

tion with the factor Attention Problem/Overactive and weak

positive association with Social Withdrawal factor (see Table

3).

There are still strong and significant positive associations

(p ≤ .01), among the factors of each of the scales EAS and

EPC.

The results of the parametric t-student PKBSpt test showed

that comparing the factors of Social Skills, statistically signifi-

cant differences by gender were found. Girls had higher level of

Social Cooperation mean (M = 27.96, SD = 5.70, t = −3.96, df

= 558, p = .000) and Social Interaction (M = 15.66, SD = 3.84,

t = −3.29, df = 563, p = .001). Regarding EPC also statistically

significant differences between genders were found. However,

it were the boys who had higher mean values, either in the fac-

tor Attention Problem/Overactive (M = 12.79, SD = 7.13, t =

5.56, df = 564, p = .000) or the Antisocial/Aggressive factor (M

= 9.74, SD = 7.41, t = 5.51, df = 562, p = .000) of EPC’E.

These values seem to indicate that the gender variable may be

associated with some of the social skills and behavior problems.

However, these are not related to the problems of Anxiety/

Somatic Problems (see Table 4).

By the analysis of variance ANOVA significant differences

between age and EAS factors wer e a lso found. Old er chi ldren are

the ones who have the hi ghest average in Social Cooperation (M =

28.39, S D = 6. 31, F = 7. 13, p = .000) and S oci al I nd e pen de nc e ( M

= 25.17, SD = 5.09, F = −3.50, p = .004), social skills. In the di-

mensions of behavior problems the youngest children (3 and

Table 2.

Intercorrelations among EAS and gender and age variables.

Factors Gender Age Social Cooperation Social Interaction Social Independence

Gender 1

Age - 1

Social Coope r ation .165** .217** 1

Social Interaction .137** - .554** 1

Social Independence .088* - .592** .645** 1

**p ≤ .01; N = 581; *p ≤ .05.

R. M. S. GOMES, A. S. PEREIRA

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102

Table 3.

Intercorrelations among EPC and gender and age variables.

Factors Gender Age Self-Centered/

Explosive Attention

Problem/Overactive Antisocial/

Aggressive Social

Withdrawal Anxiety/Somatic

Problems

Gender

Age

Self

-Centered/Explosive −.089* - 1

Attention

Problem/Overactive −.228** −.121** .795** 1

Antisocial/Aggressive

−.226** −.90* .786** .862** 1

Social Withdrawal

- .135** .541** .411** .433** 1

Anxiety/Somatic Problems

- - .687** .525** .500** .670** 1

**p ≤ .01; N = 581; *p ≤ .05.

Table 4.

Comparati ve among dimensions and gender.

Subscale Factors Gend er M SD t gl ƿ

EPC

Self-Cent ered/Explosive boy 6.66 4.48 2.12 560 .034

girl 5.87 4.35

Attention Problem/Overactive boy 12.79 7.13 5.56 564 .000

girl 9.58 6.61

Antisocial/Aggressive boy 9.74 7.41 5.51 562 .000

girl 6.48 6.65

Social Withdrawal boy 5.31 4.21 1.88 558 .060

girl 4.65 4.15

Anxiety/SomaticPro blems boy 7.45 4.64 0.577 563 .564

girl 7.23 4.57

EAS

Social Coope r ation boy 25.88 6.72 -3.96 558 .000

girl 27.96 5.71

Social Interaction boy 14.63 3.54 -3.29 563 .001

girl 15.66 3.84

Social Independenc e boy 24.22 5.09 -2.08 560 .038

girl 25.07 4.60

4 years) were the ones with higher mean values, either in the

Attention Problem/Overactive factor (M = 12.60, SD = 6.75, F

= −3.29 , p = . 006 ) or the Antisocial/Aggressive (M = 9.76, SD

= 7.41, F = −3.450, p = .005) E PC one. Older children (6 years

old) had significant differences in the problems of the Social

Withdrawal behaviors type (M = 7.04, SD = 4.45, F = −5.75, p

= .000) and Anxiety/Somatic problems (M = 9.01, SD = 4.83, F

= 4.00, p = .001).

Discussion

Through studies of correlations and parametric tests between

the gender variables and factors of the Scale of Social Skills, it

was found that girls showed more social skills based on cooper-

ation and social interaction than boys. These results confirm

some studies such as Cecconello and Koller (2000), Gomes et

al. (2011).

In Scale Behavior Problems the boys have higher average

values in Attention Problem/Overactive and Antisocial/Ag-

gressive behaviors. These data seem to indicate that age and

gender may be associated with some of the social skills. Beha-

vior Problems, however, are not correlated with anxiety prob-

lems. These data can be explained by the fact that the girls

prove to be more competent in the use of strategies in resolving

conflicts, using significantly less often want to retaliation or

physical aggression (Walker, Irving, & Berthelsen, 2002). The

results also indicate that the age of children is correlated with

social withdrawal. Study (Simões & Sanches, 2006) showed

that age has an influence on the strategies used in conflict reso-

lution and the older children had more elaborate types of res-

ponses. For the authors, the strategies were aggression, appeal

to authority and avoidance or escape responses of pro-social

nature.

Gomes (2012) shows that early childhood educators with

more years of service develop teaching activities in public in-

stitutions which value more the social behaviors of the coopera-

tion and social interaction kind between children. However,

educators with less service time had more difficulty in dealing

with children with behavior problems Self-centered/Explosive,

Attention Problem/Overactive, Antisocial/Aggressive, Social

R. M. S. GOMES, A. S. PEREIRA

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103

Withdrawal and Anxiety/Somatic Problems. For instance, Zhang

and Sun (2011) found reciprocal relations between externaliz-

ing problems and teacher-child conflict in preschool education.

Hence the need to intervene in specialized training. Some au-

thors (Alarcão, 2003; Alonso, 2003; Craft, 2004), show that

professionalism reflects on the ability of early childhood edu-

cators to, through a critical and creative analysis, regulate their

practice, deepen their knowledge and adapt their educational

action to specificity of students and the school.

Educators as professionals can help in the resolution of be-

havioral and emotional problems in children in an educational

context (Herrera & Little, 2005; Gomes, Pereira, & Vagos,

2013). Not to intervene in a reductive way, but proactively in

order to provide children, even at an early stage, with tech-

niques and set methods, such as cooperative learning, how to

deal with anger, how to reduce stress, especially for children

with predisposition to aggressive responses through relaxation

techniques, self-monitoring and cognitive coping strategies,

techniques of self-dialogue and troubleshooting. It’s very im-

portant to create healthy and constructive environments where

children participate. This must be a concern of current educa-

tional societies, because experiential components in self-regu-

lation, such as enjoyment of an activity, would be associated

with well-being.

Acknowledgemen ts

This study was supported by Research Centre Didactics and

Technology in Education of Trainers (CIDTFF), University of

Aveiro.

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