Examination of 5-6 Years Old Children’s Social Problem Solving Skills with According to Social Status

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine social problem solving skills of 5-6 years old children with according to social status. The study sample consists of 132 children aged 5-6 with normal development and who attend preschool education in a school in İstanbul under the Ministry of National Education (MEB). In this study, conducted through the relational screening method, data were collected with the personal information form, Preference Based Sociometry Technique and the WALLY Social Problem Solving Scale. The Personal Information Form was filled in by the teachers separately for each child. The Preference Based Sociometry Technique and WALLY Social Problem Solving Scale were carried out on the children individually by one of the researchers. Because study data had a normal distribution, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, one of the parametric techniques, Simple Linear Regression technique, One-Way Variance Analysis (ANOVA) and Bonferroni techniques were used. According to the study results, there is a positive relationship between social problem solving levels, being like by peers and social preference levels. It is evident that social problem solving significantly predicts being liked by peers, being disliked by peers and social preference levels. There is no significant relationship between social problem solving and social impact; social problem solving does not predict social impact. In addition, it is evident that social status (popularity, rejection, being excluded, being controversial) of young children significantly differs according to social problem solving levels.