An investigation on peer interaction of children and teacher interventions in emerging problems in games

This qualitative study aims to investigate the peer interaction of 36 to 72-month-old children and the intervention of teachers in case of trouble during game activities. The study group consisted of 58 pre-school children and four pre-school teachers. The data of the research were collected via unstructured non-participant observations from the teachers and their students. A total of sixteen hours of observations were made two days a week for eight weeks. The findings are as follows: children exhibited verbal and physical violence against each other in communication; when a controversial case is concerned, problem-solving could not be achieved in the desired ways; cooperative game behaviours were often observed; when a child with special needs was in the classroom, the dynamics of peer interaction between the children differentiated; and, finally, the interventions of the teachers on the emerging problems were teacher-centered rather than child-centered and encouraging children to solve their problems. Teacher intervention often distanced the child with special needs.