"You can't say you can't play": intervening in the process of social exclusion in the kindergarten classroom

Interventions aimed at decreasing social exclusion in school or early childhood classrooms are typically targeted at changing the behavior of the rejected or isolated child, and do nothing to address the exclusionary behavior of the peer group. We suggest an alternative approach, wherein the classroom climate is altered to discourage social exclusion. Drawing on the work of Vivian Paley, an intervention study was conducted to assess the effect of implementing a rule that disallows overt exclusion among classmates. The year-long intervention was conducted in six kindergarten classes, with four additional classes serving as a control group. Observations and teacher reports did not differ between Target and Control classes, but significant intervention effects were found in two areas: Children in Target classes reported via sociometric assessment that they liked each other significantly more at the end of the year than did children in Control classes, yet reported higher levels of social dissatisfaction than did Control children. Suggestions for future tests of this type of intervention are made, and ideas are offered for early childhood educators considering the use of a non-exclusion classroom rule.

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