Interpersonal relations in four-year dyads from constructivist and montessori programs☆

Abstract Forty 4-year-old children from Constructivist and Montessori preschool programs were compared on social-cognitive competence. The Experimenter (E) taught children in pairs to play a board game in Session 1, and in Session 2 asked them to play the game by themselves. Analysis of video and transcripts of 2208 behavioral units using Selman's coding of interpersonal negotiation strategies showed that Montessori pairs used a significantly higher proportion of strategies at Level 1, and Constructivist pairs used a significantly higher proportion of strategies at Level 2. Less conflict was found in Constructivist pairs, and they resolved their conflicts significantly more frequently. Within conflict segments, Montessori children had a significantly higher proportion of Level 0 strategies, and Constructivist pairs had a significantly higher proportion of Level 2 strategies. Both groups followed some basic rules equally well, but Constructivist pairs followed other rules more consistently. Although no difference was found in general ability to count dots on the die, Constructivist children on the whole counted spaces on the board more accurately. It was concluded that children from the Constructivist program were more advanced in social-cognitive competence than children from the Montessori program.