When Rae Pica asked if I’d like to join her and Ellen Booth Church for a discussion about the balance between cooperation and competition in our early childhood environments, it didn’t take me long to reply that I’d LOVE to.
The question is a common one. Do young children needed more emphasis on cooperative skills (social skills, problem-solving, working together) or competitive skills (individual performance, “academics”, etc.)?
And with the impressive body of work, study, and experience Rae and Ellen brought to the table, it was a fascinating discussion to be a part of.
Catch the full interview here, on Bam!Radio’s Studentcentricity.
Here are a few of my personal “show notes” from the discussion:
1- Based on a growing body of research, we see little to no difference between early academic scores and adult outcomes. But what we do see is that social skills DO have a significant predictive power when it comes to positive adult outcomes like education level, employment, and health. In this study, for example, children displaying cooperative skills in kindergarten (working together, sharing materials, taking turns in discussions, etc.) were more likely to graduate from high school on time, complete college, and gain steady employment than those who lacked these skills. These prosocial skills were also negatively related to receiving public assistance, being arrested, and binge drinking. So based on the research, we see more long-term benefits from promoting cooperative social-emotional skills in the early years than from academic markers.
The fact remains that competition is a part of human life, but human development implies a time and season for everything. While some children may be (by nature or nurture) more disposed to competition, what we know based on research is that over the long view, children benefit most from building cooperative, prosocial skills in the early childhood years. We may not need to eliminate every iota of competition, but we certainly need to intentionally promote and support cooperative skills in those early experiences.
2 – I’m a big proponent of balance in our classroom practices. However, in the early years, I would argue that the balance to cooperative skills is not competitive skills, but independent or intrapersonal skills. Children do need room to add to their growing sense of independence and personal identity, but competition isn’t required for this development. In fact, it could be argued that a secure sense of self is needed *before* competition is introduced.
3- Cooperative skills can be taught directly or with explicitly cooperative activities, but are also engaged throughout a playful preschool day. As this recent research shows, even simple activities like engaging children in music and movement together or in swinging in sync with each other builds cooperative skills and propensities. Dramatic play, building block structures, and simply sharing space and materials all provide natural avenues for supporting cooperative skills and prosocial communication.
And how about the oft-asked question, “Don’t young kids need to experience competition? It will be a part of life for them when they get older, so shouldn’t they start with it now?”
I offered my typical (and somewhat sarcastic) response. (This wasn’t the first time.)
I also agree that social competency needs to be honed and developed first before the so called “competition” trait. Kids should be able to learn how to be socially suitable on their own pace and growth. Children who are in the first years of their lives do not need to have a competitive aspect in them. Instead, they should be guided to become emotionally stable, mentally aware of what they do, spiritually inclined to help guide their actions and socially equipped to interact with other children, adult and basically anyone he or she encounters.