Develop Young Children's Emotional Intelligence Skills and Coping Strategies during the Covid-19

Overview

With the emphases of harmony among peers in the Confucian philosophy, Chinese children are likely to bottle up their frustrations associated with peer conflicts or bullying (Tam & Taki, 2007). Research shows that physical and verbal bullying are common in preschool years (Alsaker & Nägele, 2008; Repo & Sajaniemi 2015) and a growing problem in schools in Hong Kong (Wong, 2004). When kindergartens were to halt in-personal classes during the coronavirus outbreak; children had to spend more time at home, and children were reported experiencing more stress and conflicts with their siblings.

This study aimed at helping children to develop emotional intelligence skills by implementing an intervention programme called ECE Peace Ambassador Projects. The second aim was to help children construct more coping strategies to cope with peer conflicts and stress at the last year in preschool before they start going to primary school after the summer. This study will make new theoretical contributions to the research on children’s social-emotional learning and anti-bullying programmes by testing the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) and coping strategies on young children’s ability to deal with bullying, and to prevent or stop bullying among peers during the early years.