Farrelly, Nessa (2022) Supporting Emotion Regulation in a Large Infant Classroom. Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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Abstract

For the purpose of this study, my key question was “How can I as a primary school teacher support children with emotion regulation through the use of effective strategies in a large infant classroom?”. While previously working as part of the Special Education Team in my school, I observed children experiencing difficulties in managing and controlling intense emotions. This became increasingly evident during the house isolation periods amid the Covid-19 lockdowns, as observed by parents during check-in phone calls. I felt that as a teacher I was not adequately equipped with the necessary strategies to support the children. I began by researching literature on emotion regulation and observed a significant gap, specifically around supporting such a young age group of children within the classroom environment. I decided to choose action research as my chosen research paradigm because the focus lay primarily on improving teaching and enhancing learning, rather than fixing an issue. I could examine my individual practice while engaging in critical reflection, with my values of inclusion, care, and empathy at the epicentre of my research. I introduced the children to a range of highly researched intervention strategies. I discovered that emotion regulation is a life skill. My findings explored four central themes comprising of a safe space, key influencers of emotion regulation, pupil identity and autonomy and the power of reflection and mindfulness. A ‘safe space’ is vital to ensure that the children can develop their emotion regulation in a secure environment. Both parents and teachers represent highly influential figures who have a significant influence over the development of children’s emotion regulation. Children should differentiate between their individual identity and their state of emotion, and autonomously select emotion regulation strategies that work best for them. Lastly, critical reflection and mindfulness can have a substantial impact on enabling children to emotionally regulate through reflection by consciously acknowledging and accepting one’s emotions. This research resulted in transformational change to both my personal self as an individual and my professional self as a teacher. My teaching practices have changed, my relationship with the parents and the children in my class have been strengthened and my own emotion regulation has progressed. Emotion regulation is an essential life skill and therefore, as educators we need more research carried out in this area, particularly with young children within the educational context, to adequately support the children in our classrooms

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Additional Information:	M.Ed. Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Keywords:	Supporting Emotion Regulation; Large Infant Classroom;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Item ID:	17306
Depositing User:	IR eTheses
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2023 11:43
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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