Hong Kong Pre-service and In-service Preschool Teachers' Perception and Management Strategies of Young Children's Aggressive Behavior

Young children’s aggressive behavior, if not handled timely and properly, might have long-lasting negative impact on their social development. This study aims at examining Hong Kong pre-service and in-service preschool... [ view full abstract ]

Young children’s aggressive behavior, if not handled timely and properly, might have long-lasting negative impact on their social development. This study aims at examining Hong Kong pre-service and in-service preschool teachers’ perceived prevalence of different types of aggressive behavior among young children, perceived reasons for the aggressive behavior, and strategies of managing it. A total of 102 Hong Kong pre-service and in-service preschool teachers completed a questionnaire, and individual interviews were further conducted with five of them. Results showed that among the three types of aggression, physical aggression was perceived as the most common, followed by verbal aggression, and then relational aggression. Lack of social skills was viewed as the most common reason for children’s aggressive behavior, whereas teacher- and school-related factors (e.g., poor design of learning activities, unfavorable school environment) were seldom regarded as a reason. In response to children’s aggressive behavior, all or nearly all participants agreed that teachers should actively and sincerely listen to the aggressive children’s explanation for their behavior, and guide them to understand the feelings of others. More variations were observed in their view of empowering children to resolve their conflicts and using negative reinforcement strategies. Nevertheless, it was commonly agreed among the participants that teachers should take every aggression incident among children as serious. Meanwhile, participants with different years of teaching experience tended to use slightly different strategies to handle children’s aggressive behavior. Participants were also found to handle the aggressive behavior of younger and older children in different ways. Findings of this study suggest that it is important to provide training to teachers, in particular pre-service and novice teachers, on how to handle individual children’s aggressive behavior in accordance with its causes, and take a preventive approach to children’s aggressive behavior.

(Keywords: aggressive behavior, perceived prevalence, perceived cause, behavioral management strategies)