ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explored Caribbean early childhood teachers’ views of children’s conflict in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. It is framed by the ‘new’ sociology of childhood which values children’s agency, and the teachers’ belief about conflict management. Forty-three early childhood teachers responded to an online questionnaire about conflict and intervention strategies. Findings revealed most teachers saw benefits in child conflict. A variety of strategies were used with corporal punishment being the least used. Teachers mostly instructed children on what to do, sometimes including strategies which supported children’s agency. The significance of these findings in post-colonial societies with traditional understandings about appropriate child behaviour, and the influence of teacher education are discussed.

摘要

这项定性研究探讨了加勒比幼儿教师对圭亚那和特立尼达和多巴哥儿童冲突的看法。它以“新”儿童社会学为框架，重视儿童的能动性，以及教师对冲突管理的信念。四十三名幼儿教师回答了有关冲突和干预策略的在线调查问卷。调查结果显示，大多数教师看到了儿童冲突的好处。使用了多种策略，其中体罚是最少使用的。教师主要指导孩子们做什么，有时包括支持孩子们自主行动的策略。讨论了这些发现在对适当儿童行为有传统理解的后殖民社会中的重要性，以及教师教育的影响。