The response of educators to disturbing behaviour of children in kindergarten

Educators come up against disruptive behaviour in children already in the pre-school period. Childhood is one of the most sensitive and important periods in the life of individuals, because experiences (social experiences in particular) gained in this period shape both the individual and his/her relationship towards himself/herself and the others. In my thesis, I try to highlight the significance of educators' response to disruptive children behaviour, which may further intensify and strengthen as a result of inappropriate action, while a stimulative and understanding environment may attenuate the manifestation of such behaviour or even encourage its disappearance after some time. In order to become acquaintned with the possible approaches and methods of work with children with externalising behaviour problems as well as with their practical use, educators must first and foremost be aware of and understand children's psychosocial development and disruptive behaviour. At the beginning of the theoretical part of my thesis, I brefly touch upon children's emotional and social development in the early childhood. I continue with an in-depth description of the characteristics of disruptive behaviour and finally present the possible guidelines of management of behavioural difficulties. With the help of a quality research consisting of interviews with four educators and observation of two children from two different educating groups, I tried to find out what forms of disturbing behaviour the educators most often encounter and how they respond to such behaviour. On the basis of the approaches and working methods obtained from the educators' interview statements, I conducted a research to find out if these approaches and methods are actually put in practice. The research showed that children with externalising behaviour are most often aggressive, defiant and restless. The causes of such behaviour are mainly attributed to children themselves and an inappropriate family education. In the case of disruptive behaviour, educators tend to withdraw from the situation and resort to conversation that does not seek to find a solution to the child's problematic behaviour. I also found out that in “critical situations” educators most often react authoritatively and take punitive measures. Moreover, conversation, additional professional help and further professional training of educators are considered a concrete form of support both for children and educators