Socio-moral development in constructivist and Montessori kindergartens in Taiwan: A study of young children's interpersonal understanding of negotiation strategies and shared experiences

This study aimed to determine the effects of different socio-moral atmospheres in children's school experiences on children's socio-moral understanding. Further, this study was also designed to assess the effects of friendship on children's socio-moral understanding when playing a board game. The underlying conceptual framework of the study follows a constructivist perspective, that is, the socio-moral development during children's board game play in two different classrooms was analyzed based on Piaget's constructivist theory of early education.; Enacted interpersonal understanding was studied in 40 children from a Constructivist program and a Montessori program in Taiwan. Pairs of children were videotaped playing a board game. Selman's conceptualization of enacted interpersonal understanding at three levels of Negotiation Strategies (NS) and Shared Experiences (SE) was used in micro-analytic coding of videotapes and transcripts.; Analysis of 6933 examples of NS and SE showed a predominant use of Level 1 in both classrooms. By comparing the two classrooms, there is a related relationship of NS and SE based on programs, regardless of pairing friends and acquaintances. The children in the Constructivist classroom had the higher percentage of Level 2 NS and SE, with more variety and a greater number of NS and SE, and were more interpersonally active than the children in the Montessori classroom. Comparing 3630 NS and SE friends pairings with 3303 NS and SE in acquaintance pairings showed no statistical differences in the developmental levels of interpersonal understanding. However, there was significant difference in children's adopting sub-categories in Level 1 Negotiation Strategies between two pairings. School interviews showed differences between programs in the children's perceptions of rules, punishments, activities, and friendships. Differences were also observed between the groups in the degree to which children continued their activities when the teacher left the classroom. The results are discussed in terms of early education implications for kindergarteners and early schooling educators in Taiwan.