ABSTRACT

Despite being the largest archipelago and the fourth populous country in the world, Indonesia has received limited research attention to the socioemotional development of its diverse child populations. As the corona virus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly interrupted the life of individuals and families all over the world, it is also critical time to better understand the status and need of Indonesian young children’s socioemotional development to inform corresponding practices and policies. This study investigated the differences in Indonesian preschoolers’ socioemotional competencies between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, as well as across three representative provinces of DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta, and West Java. Teachers of 546 preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years old (M = 4.94, SD = .88, 51.3% male) were collected on children’s self-regulation, emotion and expression, and social interaction before and during the pandemic and across the three provinces. Research Findings: Results indicated significantly worse socioemotional competencies of preschoolers during the pandemic in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. In addition, preschoolers from DKI Jakarta displayed significantly worse socioemotional competencies than their counterparts from the other two provinces. Practice or Policy: Findings highlighted the socioemotional challenges that Indonesian preschoolers encountered during the pandemic as well as the heterogeneity embedded in diverse Indonesian children’s development. Implications for parenting and interventions were generated to reduce children’s socioemotional challenges and to support their development.

摘要

尽管印度尼西亚是世界上最大的群岛和第四人口大国，但对其多样化儿童群体的社会情感发展的研究关注有限。由于 2019 年冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行严重中断了世界各地个人和家庭的生活，因此现在也是更好地了解印度尼西亚幼儿社会情感发展的状况和需求以告知相应做法和政策的关键时刻。本研究调查了印度尼西亚学龄前儿童在大流行前和大流行期间以及在 DKI 雅加达、DI 日惹和西爪哇三个代表性省份之间的社会情感能力差异。546名3-6岁学龄前儿童的教师（M = 4.94，SD = .88, 51.3% 男性）在大流行之前和期间以及三个省份收集了儿童的自我调节、情绪和表达以及社会交往。研究结果：结果表明，与大流行前时期相比，大流行期间学龄前儿童的社会情感能力显着下降。此外，来自 DKI 雅加达的学龄前儿童的社会情感能力明显低于其他两个省的学龄前儿童。实践或政策：调查结果突出了印度尼西亚学龄前儿童在大流行期间遇到的社会情感挑战，以及印度尼西亚儿童发展中嵌入的异质性。为减少儿童的社会情感挑战并支持他们的发展产生了对育儿和干预的影响。