Transcript Presentation

Conflict resolution in sociomoral
discussions in Kindergarden
Janna Dreher (MA. Cand. Early childhood Studies)
University of Education Weingarten
Germany
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Research group „Sociomoral development in early
education”
Marcia Schillinger, Janna Dreher, Sandra Fritz,
Natalie Geist,Sophia Wilhelm & Janine Bangert
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Moral children?
DeVries & Zan (2012)
We do not mean:
 Children who simply follow rules /blind obedience.
We mean:
 Children who construct their own reasons to follow moral
rules.
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Moral development research
Moral development does
not simply unfold as a result
of maturational processes
alone.
Favorable learning
environment (role-taking
and guided reflection
opportunities) foster moral
competence.
„ A person´s level of
enacted interpersonal
understanding depends
more on experience than on
age“ (DeVries & Zan, 2012.
S.37).
Constructivistic approach
explores the benefits of
sociomoral practices in
early education
KMDD
 sociomoral (dilemma) discussions
foster moral competence
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Lind (2009); Schillinger (2013, 2006); Lupu (2007); Saedi (2009)
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Social and moral discussions in early childhood
Moral competence development
 Promote children´s reflections about social/moral issues.
 Contribute to the development of perspective taking
(Selman) and moral reasoning (Kohlberg, Lind).
 Help to recognize that there are conflicting points of view.
 Help children generate/ evaluate possible solutions to
moral issues
 „What would be fair to everyone involved?“
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Sociomoral development in early childhood
The role of conflict in moral competence
development
 Decentering from a single perspective to take into
account other perspectives.
 Confrontation with desires/ ideas of others
 Higher levels of interpersonal understanding.
 Perspective taking (Selman, 1980).
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Question
How do children deal with dilemma situations and
which suggestions for conflict resolution do they
present?
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DeVries & Zan (2012)
How to conduct sociomoral discussions?
Principles of teaching:
1. Choose an issue about which you can reasonably
expect to find a difference of opinion
2. Read, tell or act out dilemma stories many times
3. Help children to recognize all points of view
4. Ask open-ended questions
5. Help children clarify their reasoning
6. Accept all opinions and positions
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Study
2 Institutions (Kindergarten)
in the Baden Württemberg
area, Germany
Participants: 15 children, 56 years old (pre-schoolers).
Discussions in groups from
5-9 children
The discussion were
videotaped and
transliterated
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Two illustrated dilemma
story books (Goolsby &
DeVries, 1994; 2012).
1-2 Sessions per story.
Method:
 Read + tell (children) +
discussion.
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Structure of the discussion
Read
Tell (children)
Discussion
 How do the children in the story feel?
 How does Christopher feel?
 How would you feel if you were Christopher,…
 How would you feel if you were in this situation?
 What shall the children do?
 What do you think about this conflict resolution?
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Structure of the discussion
 Have you ever been in such a situation?
 What can you do to avoid such a situation?
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„When a friend refuses to share“
„When a friend refuses to share“. Goolsby & DeVries, 1994; German Version: Lind & Knoop, 2012
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„When a friend eats more than her share“
When a friend eats more than her share“.
Goolsby & DeVries, 1994; German
Version: Lind & Knoop, 2012
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Video
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Category system
Qualitative content analysis of children`s
contributions was performed according to Mayring
(2010)
A Category system, which based on the theory of
development of moral competence and
perspective-taking was constructed
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Theory
Piaget: cognitive – structural approach
 Heteronomous morality (morality of constraint)
 Autonomous morality (morality of cooperation)
Kohlberg: cognitive moral development theory

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


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Stage 1: Orientation toward punishment and obedience
Stage 2: Hedonistic, instrumental-relativistic orientation
Stage 3: Good-boy-nice-girl orientation
Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation
Stage 5: Orientation toward legalistic social contracts
Stage 6: Orientation toward universal ethical principles
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Theory
Selman: Perspective-taking
 Stage 0:no difference between the social perspectives of
self and others
 Stage 1:another person’s subjective thoughts, feelings,
and intentions are distinct from the self‘s
 Stage 2:awareness and reflection of different
perspectives
 Stage 3:self and other can view self’s and other’s
psychological points of view mutually and
simultaneously
 Stage 4:a general integrated social viewpoint
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Analysis of the sociomoral discussions with
5-6 year-old-children
Results are presented in following categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stages of moral development
Tit for tat
Stages of perspective-taking
The role of friendship
Understanding intention
More impressions
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Results
Most of the suggestions for conflict resolution were
2.stage level (Kohlberg) and 1. stage level
(Selman)
Most of them matched the deductiv categories
But also new ones  inductive categories
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Stages of moral development
Kind L1.: They can take a few from the fence //mhm// a few
building blocks and take them for building the high rise and
then you make a bit of space and the high rise comes in
there
Kind L1.: No. I would say it like this. I had given him almost
all parts of the fence. The half of them I would have given
him.
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Tit for tat
Kind E1.: But otherwise the children will attack him
Person 1: The children will attack him, if he would steal the
building blocks?
Kind E1.: Yes, maybe
Person 1: That could be
Kind K.: He can, they could take away the building block from
him
Person 1: Or so
Kind R.: Yes, but Christopher can hit them
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Stages of perspective-taking
Kind J2.: The children do not want to destroy the zoo, but
Christopher wants to build a high rise
Kind B.: Ähhm, they could, if the zoo, they could finish the zoo
and could all play together with the zoo after they had finished the
zoo
Kind B.: So I would have taken a few building blocks from the
fence and I would have a solution as the fence could still remain
Kind J1.: the others, they could have come to the other children
and then they could haven taken a look and the children could
play for a while and then they disintegrate the zoo and could give
the building blocks to Christopher
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The role of friendship
Kind J2.: the three are friends
Person 1: Do you think that the other are friends?
Kind J2.: Yes
Person 1: and Christopher? Is he also a friend?
Kind J2.: I don‘t know
Kind S1: No
Person 1: You don‘t think so Kind S1?
Kind N.: I don‘t think so too
Person 1: You don‘t think it too, Kind N. Do you think
otherwise they would let him play?
Several children: Yes
Person 1: and would give him building blocks?
mehrere Kinder: Yes
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Understanding intention
Person 1: Does he want to take her with him?
Kind S1: No
Kind J.: Because she has eaten the cookies
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Avoiding conflicts/harmony
Kind S1: Stop fighting!
Kind H: They just play together
Kind E2: No, if they say sorry
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More impressions
Kind J2.: No, saying please!
Person 1:
That Christopher say please?
Kind S1: please can I have
some building blocks
Kind S1: ähh he has to look
around, to check that she can‘t
eat the cookie
Violence:
 „Saying shit“
Kind E2: steal cookies!
 „Yes, but Christopher can hit
them
Kind B.: I would just give him
some building block and if he
needs more I will give him all
and I will looking for something
new to play
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Outlook
Further methodological development (specific for
early education)
 Teachers interventions
Case by case analysis/ individual case analysis
to see the development of the child during the intervention
Group dynamic research
Development of a instruments to assess moral
competence of kindergarden children
 Evaluation of interventions
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Thank you!
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