The Safe Kindergarten: Promotion of Communication Skills Among Kindergarten Children

The study evaluated the "safe kindergarten" program designed to promote kindergartners' communication and social skills based on principles of Imago marital and family counseling (Hendrix, 1990). Participants were 92 kindergartners from four kindergartens (intervention = 46; comparison = 46). Teachers in intervention kindergartens led 20 weekly small-group pre-planned sessions on communication issues and practicing children's intentional dialogues. Preand post-program group comparisons utilized children's audiorecorded role-played dialogue between friends in conflict, interview to map social processing, and sociometric testing. At posttest, the intervention group surpassed the comparison group regarding engagement in longer dialogues, more awareness of others' inner world, larger variety of conflict resolutions in dialogues, higher degree of mutual choice of friends, and better understanding of social processes during conflict. The Safe Kindergarten 3 The Safe Kindergarten: Promotion of Communication and Social Skills among Kindergartners The present study evaluated an intervention based on the Imago principles (Hendrix, 1990) for promoting communication and social relations skills among normally developing children in their kindergartens. The program developed for the purpose of the present study provided children with knowledge and tools to create safer and more effective interactions within their peer group. At kindergarten age, children are largely dependent on the adults around them. Therefore, by definition, a major part of the relationships at this age are hierarchical, such as with parents, older siblings, or teachers. Uniquely, kindergarteners' peer group relationships are non-hierarchical. Egalitarian relations with peers provide kindergartners with an opportunity to experience collaboration as well as competition. In order to communicate effectively within their peer group, children must relate to others' points of view, understand others, and at the same time effectively clarify their own positions. These social skills constitute one major source for their future social welfare (Campbell, 2002; Denham et al., 2003) and academic functioning (Dong Hwa & Juhu, 2003). For example, peer rejection in kindergarten predicted difficulties in psychological adjustment throughout childhood (Ladd, 2006) as well as lower academic skills in school (O'Neil, Welsh, Parke, Wang, & Strand, 1997). Creating effective communication among children is a familiar challenge to kindergarten teachers. Such efficacious communication skills include waiting one's turn without interrupting others, the ability to articulate and expand one's wishes and thoughts, asking questions, listening to others, and reflecting others (Wolf, 1998). The use of The Safe Kindergarten 4 accepted communication skills in early childhood has been linked to attaining intimate relations, a healthy lifestyle, and stability throughout life (Lawhon & Lawhon, 2000), as well as to academic success (Hampton & Fantuzzo, 2003). Conversational competence affects the extent to which children interact successfully with their peers (e.g., Black & Hazen, 1990). In a longitudinal study, Kemple, Speranza, and Hazen (1992) found that children’s responsiveness to peers’ speech in conversations with classmates when they were 3-4 years old predicted their social status a year later. Children may learn these communication skills with the help of an adult who equips them with positive communication techniques such as cooperation, sensitivity, self-awareness, openness, and reduction of defensiveness (Chen, 2003; Lawhon & Lawhon, 2000). Researchers suggest that teachers and parents should encourage child-child interaction in order to promote friendship skills (e.g., Phillipsen, Bridges, Mclemore, & Saponaro, 1999) and that young children can be taught to use more effective methods of conflict resolution and to expand their store of social behaviors (Browning, Davis, & Resta, 2000). Conflicts at this age may thus provide an opportunity for practicing selfregulation and appropriate social interaction. In the present study, we designed, implemented, and assessed a program for improving kindergartners' social and communication skills (e.g., listening, creating a dialogue, making an effort to understand others' feelings and needs). The program aimed to promote normally developing children in their kindergarten. To the best of our knowledge, this line of studies is rare in the psychological educational literature. A search for the terms "preschool children"," kindergarten children" "intervention," "program"," The Safe Kindergarten 5 communication", and "social skills" in the Eric and the PsycInfo databases (peer reviewed studies from 1990) did not reveal studies promoting communication or social skills among normally developing preschoolers or kindergartners. We did find studies that dealt with these issues among young children with special needs (e.g., autism, language impairments, and deafness (e.g., Rogers, 2000; Timler, Vogler-Elias, & Mcgill, 2007); children at risk from disadvantaged environments (e.g., Denham & Burton, 1996; McMahon & DePaul, 2000); and children with behavior problems (Knivsberg, Iversen, Nodland, & Reichelt, 2007). Imago Principles The current intervention was designed on the basis of the principles of Imago (Hendrix, 1990), a method aiming to promote conscious relations between couples, between parents and children, or within any other interpersonal interaction. Imago focuses on building trust in relationships by teaching communication skills that create a feeling of safety. The basic assumption underlying this approach is that human beings are naturally connected and that they perceive conflictual situations as an existential threat. This sense of danger, like persons' sense of security, derives not only from objective physical threats to life, but also from subjective perceptions based on life experiences. The brain stem and limbic system, the parts of the brain responsible for the body's life systems and basic emotions, label every life event as roughly "dangerous" or "secure. " By nature, the automatic reactions to dangerous situations are characterized by fight or flight, which are both rigid, ineffective reactions for resolving conflicts and achieving stable security in a relationship. The Imago approach attempts to encourage adaptive coping that is conscious of the motives behind one's behavior and that of others – coping that helps The Safe Kindergarten 6 create a safe space in which all individuals involved can express themselves and obtain a response to their needs. To achieve this goal, Imago suggests a basic model for dialogue. In this framework, one participant adopts the role of "sender" and the other adopts the role of a "receiver. " In the first stage, the receiver reflects what the sender says, asks for feedback on the reflection, and encourages the sender to continue speaking until he/she has nothing more to add. In the next stage, the receiver summarizes all that he/ she heard, asks the sender for confirmation and tries to understand the sender in light of what has been said. Hendrix and Hunt (1997) argued that maintenance of conscious and effective communication is important even with preschool-age children. Acknowledging that small children lack a broad vocabulary and ability to express abstract ideas, Hendrix and Hunt cited clinical evidence attesting to the possibility that such children can nevertheless engage in intelligent dialogue that includes reflection and empathy. Reflection of what children say legitimizes their words and helps them develop the consciousness and skills required for safe interaction with the environment. The "Safe Kindergarten" Program The intervention program in the present study adapted the principles of the Imago method and its central tool (the pair dialogue) to the abilities and needs of kindergartners. The program's central aim was to teach the children to dialogue effectively in general, and even more so after a disagreement. It aspired to train the children to convey their thoughts and feelings in an orderly manner and to listen attentively to their friends when expressing their thoughts and feelings, mainly after a disagreement. In this framework, the children learned about the nature of social relations and communicative behavior. The Safe Kindergarten 7 They were trained in effective communication that enabled them to learn and understand their own and their friends' motives for reactive or considerate behavior. To adapt the Imago principles to kindergartner's realm, 20 units were constructed, each comprising Imago issues and exercising the dialogue tool. Sessions followed a cumulative, developmental curricular progression (for examples of two sessions, see Appendix A). The two teachers in the intervention group led the program sessions as part of the overall program taught in their kindergartens from December to May, in weekly sessions of 20-30 minutes. Each teacher led the sessions in fixed small groups of about six children within her kindergarten. Each session had a 4-part structure consisting of the opening, presentation of a theoretical issue, systematic practice of the intentional dialogue, and closure. 1) Opening. Each session began with about 2-3 minutes of guided imagery. Using texts and music adapted for this purpose, the teacher guided the children in gradual relaxation of their bodies and in preparing themselves for sharing their feelings and thoughts with others as well as containing what their classmates would say. Over the course of the year, once the children became familiar with Imago's primary psychological concept of "safe place," an inner, quiet, secure place, they were guided during the relaxation to imagine themselves in their own "safe place. " 2) Presentation of a theoretical issue. The theoretical part of the session lasted about 10-15 minutes. The content matter was present