TEACHING EMOTIONAL FEELING AND REGULATION FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Mastering emotions is an essential skill that needs to be developed since childhood. The critical period of emotional development occurs in preschool children because they learn to encounter a new social environment. They are also increasingly aware of their emotions and feelings. This study explores teachers' strategies to teach preschool children emotional feelings and regulation in school. In addition, the challenges of teaching emotional feelings to preschool children are addressed in this study. The Qualitative approach is used through in dept-interviews focusing on a purposive sample of 4 preschool teachers in urban and rural areas. The initial findings reveal that emotional feelings and regulation can be taught through storytelling, role-playing, and self-reflection journaling. Lack of the ability to express emotional feelings through verbal language and parenting style are considered as a major challenge in teaching young children about emotions.