FORMAÇÃO EM REDE PARA A EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL

Introduction to Educational Conflicts

Overview of the Presentation

• Telma Vinha introduces herself as a professor at Unicamp and discusses the focus of the video on social and emotional dimensions in education, particularly conflicts among infants and children.

• Emphasizes that interpersonal conflicts are crucial for learning societal rules, values like respect and justice, and overall development.

Importance of Conflict in Development

• Highlights that children learn to regulate their impulsive reactions through conflict, which aids in emotional expression and perspective-taking.

• Clarifies that while all feelings are valid, actions must be restricted; teaching children to express emotions without harming others is essential.

Strategies for Managing Conflict

Educational Interventions

• Discusses the role of educators in helping children develop strategies rather than merely containing their emotions during conflicts.

• Suggests that conflicts provide insights into what children need to learn, focusing on process over immediate resolution.

Learning from Experiences

• Explains how experiences such as losing a bet can teach children about risk management and consequences early on.

• Stresses the importance of understanding what needs to be learned from each conflict rather than just seeking solutions.

Developmental Progression in Negotiation Skills

Evolution of Negotiation Strategies

• Notes that negotiation skills evolve over time, taking more than 20 years for humans to develop effective strategies.

• Indicates that children's ability to negotiate improves with age but acknowledges that even adults can revert to less developed responses under stress.

Dimensions of Conflict Understanding

• Introduces four dimensions observed during conflict interactions: cognitive understanding, emotional balance, behavioral responses, and social context.

• Highlights the cognitive aspect where individuals recognize others' perspectives (e.g., wanting a toy), which is critical for effective intervention.

Understanding Conflict in Early Childhood

The Nature of Impulsive Reactions

• Children may react impulsively to conflicts by ignoring them or expressing strong emotions, such as crying, indicating a lack of self-regulation.

• This impulsivity can lead to physical interventions like pushing or taking toys, reflecting their limited ability to manage conflict constructively.

Longitudinal Study Overview

• A comprehensive study spanning 10 years observed interactions among children aged 3 to 16, documenting episodes of conflict and analyzing changes over time.

• The research aimed to understand how individual conflicts evolve into collective disputes and the strategies employed by children during these interactions.

Levels of Conflict Development

• The initial level (level zero) highlights that conflicts create significant emotional imbalances for young children who struggle with self-regulation.

• Children often resort to immediate and unilateral strategies when faced with conflict due to their developmental stage, lacking the capacity for negotiation or compromise.

Illustrative Examples of Conflict

• Videos demonstrate children's reactions during conflicts; one shows a child receiving candy while another does not, illustrating their inability to communicate needs effectively.

• Another example depicts a child reacting aggressively when corrected during an exercise, showcasing typical aggressive responses at this developmental stage.

Disputes and Their Impact

• Conflicts often arise from competition over objects or status; children engage in verbal disputes without using logical arguments, leading to emotional distress for both parties involved.

• Research indicates that around 70% of strategies used by children aged 3–4 are impulsive, highlighting the prevalence of conflict in early childhood interactions—averaging eight conflicts per hour at this age.

Understanding Children's Conflict and Emotional Development

Psychological Effects of Actions on Children

• Children often struggle to recognize the psychological impact their actions have on others, such as causing sadness or hurt. They focus more on tangible outcomes rather than intentions.

• The severity of a conflict for children is often linked to visible consequences (e.g., bloodshed) rather than the intent behind an action. This indicates a developmental stage where they prioritize concrete results over abstract reasoning.

• When discussing conflicts, children may emphasize physical evidence of harm (like bruises) over the emotional context, demonstrating their limited ability to understand non-visible consequences.

Emotional Responses and Empathy in Young Children

• Young children can exhibit strong emotional reactions, sometimes even more intense than those who are directly harmed, due to their inability to foresee the effects of their actions. This highlights a gap in their understanding of cause and effect in social interactions.

• Children are highly attuned to adult expressions; changes in a teacher's facial expression can significantly influence how they perceive situations and whether they feel safe enough to return to play after conflict.

• Even infants display early signs of empathy through comforting behaviors, although they may not fully grasp the pain or sadness experienced by others until later stages of development.

Causes of Conflict Among Young Children

• Conflicts among 3-4-year-olds primarily arise from physical disputes over objects or space, reflecting their developmental stage where possession is determined by who grabs something first rather than ownership concepts.

• Provocations also serve as a common source of conflict; young children derive pleasure from teasing or irritating peers, indicating an early understanding of social dynamics that can lead to aggression mixed with humor.

• Observations show that despite having multiple toys available, children will often fight over one specific item due to their limited understanding of shared ownership and property rights at this age.

Understanding Conflict and Provocation in Child Development

The Nature of Conflict Among Children

• Children often engage in conflicts over a single object, looking to adults for intervention. However, these interventions may not effectively resolve the conflict for both parties involved.

• Similar behaviors can be observed in animals, where the intention is to take an object from a peer, demonstrating that such competitive behavior is not exclusive to humans.

• As children develop, the frequency of provocations tends to increase while disputes decrease. This suggests a developmental trajectory in how conflicts are managed.

Examples of Provocation

• A clear example of provocation occurs when one child expresses displeasure but another continues their actions despite knowing it will upset them.

• In sibling interactions, minor provocations are common; children might argue about personal space or perceived annoyances like "breathing my air."

The Role of Provocation in Development

• Research indicates that provocation plays a significant role in development, including antisocial and prosocial behaviors during adolescence. It highlights the need for interventions that address underlying causes of conflict.

• For younger children (ages 3-4), conflicts often end with one child abandoning the dispute rather than reaching a mutual resolution.

Resolution Strategies

• An example illustrates unilateral satisfaction where one child concedes while another insists on their perspective (e.g., arguing over whether something is "potato" or not).

• Psychological effects of conflict are as significant as physical ones; children's emotional responses must be acknowledged alongside tangible outcomes.

Understanding Perceptions of Conflict

• Older children begin to recognize who instigated the conflict and attribute blame accordingly. They perceive emotions differently based on their involvement.

• While they acknowledge feelings like anger or sadness, they still tend to view conflicts through a lens that favors their perspective.

Impulsivity and Self-Regulation

• Progress towards self-regulation is evident as children start justifying their actions based on perceived provocations from others.

• Children understand that both parties may want different things (e.g., sharing toys), yet they often resort to strategies aimed at controlling others' actions instead of collaborative solutions.

Strategies Used by Children

• Even older children exhibit impulsive strategies when resolving disputes; this does not indicate malice but rather an ongoing struggle with self-control.

• A child's response to being told to express feelings verbally instead of physically demonstrates the challenge they face between impulse control and verbal expression.

This structured overview captures key insights into children's behavior regarding conflict and provocation while providing timestamps for easy reference back to specific parts of the discussion.

Understanding Children's Conflict Resolution Strategies

Use of Threats and Control in Play

• Children often use short, commanding phrases during play, such as "make him live again," indicating a desire for control over the game dynamics.

• They employ threats to manipulate others, e.g., "If you don't give me the bucket, I'll hit you," showcasing a strategy that prioritizes control rather than physical aggression.

• Calling upon adult authority is common; children may say, "I want you to tell him to give me back my toy," using adults to validate their demands instead of seeking fair resolutions.

Manipulation and Admiration

• Children may attempt to convince peers of their superiority by boasting about their abilities (e.g., speed or strength), which can lead to admiration and submission from others.

• Flattery is also used as a tactic; children might express affection towards an adult ("my dear teacher") to gain favor or influence outcomes in their interactions.

Imposition vs. Negotiation

• The strategies employed often reflect imposition rather than negotiation; children use authoritative language like "give it back now" instead of engaging in cooperative dialogue.

• While there is progress in replacing physical actions with verbal demands, these strategies still focus on exerting power over others rather than fostering mutual understanding.

Repairing Relationships

• After conflicts, some children show attempts at repairing relationships through gestures like offering toys or affection, though these acts are often not sincere or well-coordinated with genuine intent.

• Apologies may be offered without true intention for change; statements like "I promise I won't do it again" are frequently followed by repeated behaviors shortly after.

Guidance for Adult Intervention

• Adults should intervene at appropriate developmental levels; when dealing with aggressive behavior (level zero), they should model constructive communication techniques for conflict resolution.

• Encouraging children to articulate their feelings and requests clearly can help them learn effective communication skills necessary for resolving disputes amicably.

Understanding Conflict Resolution in Child Development

Basic Strategies for Helping Children

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of using basic actions to assist children in expressing their feelings, such as saying "it hurt" when they experience pain.

• There is a focus on promoting development by employing strategies that are slightly above the child's current level of understanding.

Evolution of Conflict Recognition

• As children grow, they begin to recognize conflicts between parties and engage in discussions about rules, often spending more time negotiating than playing.

• Intentions become significant; children learn to apologize sincerely rather than superficially, indicating a deeper understanding of conflict resolution.

Age-related Changes in Conflict Strategies

• A comparison of conflict resolution strategies across five age groups shows a decline in impulsive physical responses from ages 3-4 (71%) to ages 8-9 (22%).

• Unilateral strategies (one wins, one loses) increase during pre-adolescence while cooperative strategies remain underutilized despite their effectiveness.

Causes and Types of Conflicts

• Physical disputes decrease significantly with age; however, provocations rise sharply among adolescents, suggesting a shift in conflict dynamics.

• The abandonment of conflict becomes prevalent as children mature; this strategy often leads to unresolved issues persisting into adolescence.

Commitment to Change and Intervention Strategies

• The need for bilateral resolutions increases over time, moving towards commitments for change rather than mere problem-solving.

• Interventions should be tailored based on developmental needs rather than personality traits; understanding these needs can enhance effective support for children's growth.

Observing Developmental Progress

• Recognizing gradual improvements in children's behavior—such as asking instead of hitting—can indicate successful development and learning processes.

• Teaching children alternative communication methods is crucial for fostering long-term conflict resolution skills.

Understanding Emotional Development in Adolescents

The Role of Strategy in Emotional Coordination

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of using strategies to help individuals coordinate their emotional responses, indicating that this is a gradual process requiring time for strategies to solidify before further assistance can be provided.

• Progress in emotional development can be observed through changes in the intensity and duration of emotional imbalances, as well as the frequency with which these imbalances occur.

Insights from Robert Selman's Research

• Robert Selman, a pioneer in studying emotional development, highlights a key difference between adolescents/adults and young children: older individuals have the capacity to choose not to adopt another person's perspective.

• This ability—or lack thereof—affects how adolescents and adults navigate social interactions compared to younger children, who may struggle with understanding different viewpoints.