Primary schools may organize an intervention programme to equip students with emotion-regulating skills. Being able to regulate emotions is an important soft skill which all children should possess. School-based intervention programs have not only showed to be effective in preventing depression (Barrett, Lock & Farrell, 2005), schools also have a direct affiliation with their students and therefore, hold the ability to reach out to them and even identify at-risk students and provide emphasis on them. Additionally, early interventions in primary schools are effective as it cultivates good habits in children due to their window of vulnerability (Taylor, 2011). The school intervention programme should also adopt educational appeal and positive message framing as children are more receptive to clear instructions and praises (Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited, 2008).
The current programme showed me that children have short attention spans and enjoy hands-on activities. This can be observed in the energy fluctuations between debriefs (lower) and game times (higher).
VS
debrief
game time
Word count: 250
Hence, the school intervention programme should involve visuals or interactive activities that engages the children in learning. One aspect which the school intervention programme can adopt from this Service Learning programme is how we used games to introduce identification and coping of emotions. Piaget’s theory on play suggests that play allows children to practice what they had learned (Piaget, 1962). Therefore, by infusing play into the school intervention programme, it allows the children to practice identifying and regulating emotions which brings them one step closer to becoming self-aware and preventing depression (Glover, 1999).
References
Barrett, P. M., Lock, S., & Farrell, L. J. (2005). Developmental differences in universal preventive
intervention for child anxiety. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10(4), 539-555.doi:
10.1177/1359104505056317
Glover, A. (1999). The role of play in the development and learning. Child's play. Revisiting play in
early childhood settings. Sydney: Maclennan Pretty.
Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &
Company.
Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited. (2008). Self-regulation in young children. Retrieved from
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/self-regulation_children.html/context/732
Taylor, S. E. (2011). Health psychology (8th ed.). New York,NY: McGraw-Hill.