Empirical Research on Language and Social Development for Left-behind Children at 4 to 6 Years Old in Rural Areas of Shaanxi, China--for the workshop entitled "Development of Early Childhood Education in Rural China"

The questionnaire survey, work analysis, action research and other methods with combination of quality and quantity are applied to research on language and social development of nearly 300 left-behind children in 10... [ view full abstract ]

The questionnaire survey, work analysis, action research and other methods with combination of quality and quantity are applied to research on language and social development of nearly 300 left-behind children in 10 kindergartens in 4 counties and 1 district of Shaanxi Province. The results show that the project improves language communication and social development ability for left-behind children at 4 to 6 years old; The teachers’ and parents’ report of children’s language development and social development ability was weakly correlated in the pre-test and was moderately correlated in the post-test; There is no gender difference in language communication and social development ability of children; There is no age group difference in the ability of language communication and social development in teachers’ evaluation, but there is significant difference in parents’ evaluation. The results show that children’s performance in language communication and social development in children between 4 to 5 years of age is much better than those under 4 years. Children’s language and social skills develop rapidly between 4 and 5 years of age. The left-behind children between 4 and 6 years are particularly eager to have their parents’ company, play, concern and love. The interval and times for parents and children to meet with each other has no significant impact on children's language and social ability development, but children who have longer interval and less times to meet their parents, have lower language and social skills scores. Parents of left-behind children have deep love for their children, concern, hope and expectation. They pay more attention to children's life and learning, and pay less attention to their spiritual and emotional needs. The teachers from the project kindergartens and support kindergartens have significantly improved their professional ethics, education and teaching ability and scientific research ability.