Development of Emotion Regulation by Integrating Mindfulness Praxis in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Rapid technological development and information overload has shaped the identity of the 21st Century and has had an immense impact on many social aspects of human life including education systems and children across the world. In their early years, children experience rapid flows of information and a vast range of emotional stimuli every day which, without the ability to effectively self-regulate the emotional responses to these stimuli, can cause anxiety, cognitive overload, socialisation problems and uncontrollable emotional release, resulting in psychological distress for everyone involved – children, parents, and educators. Furthermore, in early childhood education long-term implications must always be considered as, during such overwhelming moments, a child is not able to effectively engage in socialisation or learning processes and subsequently, this can have a negative effect on overall long-term development and the life of a child. This research confirms that, in the past decade, social emotional learning has, for many education institutions across the world and systems worldwide, become an integral part of learning. Nevertheless, in early childhood education research, there remains a notable knowledge gap concerning the lack of systematized knowledge and practical tools to support the development of emotion regulation skills in early childhood education. This paper presents a theoretical and qualitative multi-method study, including a pedagogical intervention, providing scientifically grounded answers and practical advice for educators and early childhood education institutions on how to integrate mindfulness praxis to promote emotion regulation skills of children aged five to six. The results of the research show that meaningful and qualitative support of emotion regulation skills development are provided, through the inclusion of mindfulness praxis as a purposeful and systematic part of early childhood education.