Teachers’ Social-Emotional Competence and Preschool Children’s Peer Social Competence: The Indirect Role of Parental Involvement
Abstract
Peer social competence is an important aspect of preschool children’s social development, and is associated with multiple social contexts across home and kindergarten. Grounded in ecological systems theory and social learning theory, this study examined the relationships among teachers’ social-emotional competence, parental involvement, and peer social competence in preschool children, with a focus on the statistical indirect effect through parental involvement. Data were collected from 30 teachers, 277 preschool children, and their parents across two kindergartens in Ningbo, China, supplemented by semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers and 17 parents. Results revealed significant positive correlations among teachers’ social-emotional competence, parental involvement, and children’s peer social competence. Path analysis demonstrated a statistically significant indirect effect of parental involvement in the association between teachers’ social-emotional competence and children’s peer social competence. Exploratory analyses further indicated that this indirect effect was significant for three dimensions of teachers’ social-emotional competence: self-management, awareness of others, and collective awareness. Qualitative findings provided contextual explanations in the relationships s among teachers’ social-emotional competence, home-kindergarten interactions, and children’s peer social interactions. Overall, the findings suggest that the association between teachers’ social-emotional competence and children’s peer social competence may involve cross-contextual linkages between kindergarten and home through parental involvement.
Document Type: Original article
Cited as: Liao, Z., Li, X., Liu, R., & Luo, N. (2026). Teachers’ social-emotional competence and preschool children’s peer social competence: The indirect role of parental involvement. Educational Research Advances, 1(3), 197-206. https://doi.org/10.46690/era.2026.03.06
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46690/era.2026.03.06Keywords:
Teachers’ social-emotional competenc, preschool children’s peer social competence, parental involvement, home-kindergarten interactions, indirect effectsDownloads
References
Arace, A., Prino, L. E., & Scarzello, D. (2021). Emotional competence of early childhood educators and child socio-emotional wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7633. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147633
Chen, J. J., Liang, X., & Lin, J. C. (2024). Weaving the fabric of social and emotional learning in the context of teaching: A study in Hong Kong kindergarten classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 53(5), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10643-024-01682-0
Du, Y., & Mao, Y. (2018). Construction and development of students’ social-emotional competence from a relational perspective. Educational Research, 39(8), 43-50.
El Nokali, N. E., Bachman, H. J., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2010). Parent involvement and children’s academic and social development in elementary school. Child Development, 81(3), 988-1005. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01447.x
Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Bassler, O. C., & Brissie, J. S. (1987). Parent involvement: Contributions of teacher efficacy, school socioeconomic status, and other school characteristics. American Educational Research Journal, 24(3), 417-435. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163118
Fantuzzo, J., Tighe, E., & Childs, S. (2000). Family involvement questionnaire: A multivariate assessment of family participation in early childhood education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 367-376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.2.367
Frenzel, A. C., Daniels, L., & Buric, I. (2021). Teacher emotions in the classroom and their implications for students. Educational Psychologist, 56(4), 250-264. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2021.1985501
Iruka, I. U., De Marco, A., & Garrett-Peters, P. (2018). Profiles of academic/socioemotional competence: Associations with parenting, home, child care, and neighborhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 54, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.11.002
Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491-525. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325693
Jin, C., Liu, Y., & Chen, L. (2012). The impact of negative social environments on problem behaviors of migrant and left-behind children: The moderating role of parent-child and peer relationships. Psychological Science, 35(5), 1119-1125. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.2012.05.003.
Katz, L. F., & Windecker-Nelson, B. (2004). Parental meta-emotion philosophy in families with conduct-problem children: Links with peer relations. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(4), 385-398. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JACP.0000030292.36168.30
Lee, H. M., & Kim, Y. (2021). Effects of teachers’ playfulness on child’s peer competence: The mediating effects of teacher-child interaction. Korean Journal of Childcare and Education, 17(2), 121-142. https://doi.org/10.14698/jkcce.2021.17.02.121
Li, D., Li, W., & Huang, L. (2024). The relationship between parenting styles and children’s emotion management ability: The mediating role of peer social competence. Education and Culture Forum, 16(4), 76-86. https://doi.org/10.15958/j.cnki.jywhlt.2024.04.008
Li, M., Mao, Y., & Gu, X. (2021). The impact of teachers’ social-emotional competence on students’ social-emotional competence: A multiple mediation analysis. Teacher Education Research, 33(6), 24-31. https://doi.org/10.13445/j.cnki.t.e.r.2021.06.011
Lim, E. M. (2024). The relationships among teacher’s self-efficacy, teacher-child interaction, and peer interaction based on young children’s emotional intelligence. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 33(5), 1237-1249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-023-00793-3
Ling, H., Ning, L., Liu, M., Feng, H., Zhou, C., Zhou, Y., ... & Zhang, J. (2023). A case study on parent-child play promoting the development of young children’s peer social competence. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31(2), 491-495. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2023.02.048
Liu, Q., & Li, X. (2019). Revision of the Parental Involvement Questionnaire (Short Form) for parents of preschool children. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27(1), 49-53. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2019.01.010
Maldia, S. M. (2024). Teachers’ self-efficacy and teacher-initiated parental involvement: The two-tier lens on teachers’ performance. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 5(10), 4000-4009. https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.05.10.17
McWayne, C., Hampton, V., Fantuzzo, J., Cohen, H. L., & Sekino, Y. (2004). A multivariate examination of parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children. Psychology in the Schools, 41(3), 363-377. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10163
Moon, J.-W., & Kim, S. H. (2024). Effects of early childhood teachers’ emotional expression on young children’s socio-emotional competence: Focusing on the mediating effect of teacher-child interaction and play teaching efficacy. The Korea Association of Yeolin Education, 32(1), 227-247. https://doi.org/10.18230/tjye.2024.32.1.227
Murray, E., McFarland-Piazza, L., & Harrison, L. J. (2015). Changing patterns of parent-teacher communication and parent involvement from preschool to school. Early Child Development and Care, 185(7), 1031-1052. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2014.975223
Pakarinen, E., Lerkkanen, M. K., & von Suchodoletz, A. (2020). Teacher emotional support in relation to social competence in preschool classrooms. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 43(4), 444-460. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2020.1791815
Pang, L., Chen, Q., Jiang, Y., & Ye, Z. (2001). Developmental characteristics of young children’s social behavior. Psychological Development and Education, (1), 24-30. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2001.01.005
Poulou, M. S., Garner, P. W., & Bassett, H. H. (2021). Teachers’ emotional expressiveness and classroom management practices: Associations with young students’ social-emotional and behavioral competence. Psychology in the Schools, 59(3), 557-573. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22631
Powell, D. R., Son, S.-H., File, N., & San Juan, R. R. (2010). Parent-school relationships and children’s academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten. Journal of School Psychology, 48(4), 269-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2010.03.002
Premo, E., Pilarz, A. R., & Lin, Y.-C. (2023). Pre-kindergarten teachers’ family engagement practices and English language learners’ attendance and early learning skills: Exploring the role of the linguistic context. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 63, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.10.005
Wong, Y. (2016). A phenomenological inquiry of teacher perspectives and experiences on social emotional learning in students (Unpublished master’s thesis). McGill University.
Yan, P. (2017). Qualitative study on children’s peer rejection behavior from teachers’ perspective (Unpublished master’s thesis). Shenyang Normal University.
Zhang, S., Mao, Y., & Li, M. (2022). Development level and influencing factors of primary school teachers’ social-emotional competence. Journal of Educational Science of Hunan Normal University, 21(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.19503/j.cnki.1671-6124.2022.01.002
Zhang, Y. (2002). Development of the Peer Social Competence Scale for young children aged 4-6. Journal of Jiangsu Institute of Education (Social Science Edition), (1), 42-44.