Peculiarities of the Control of Emotional Expression in Children in the Process of Socialization

The development of the control of emotional expression in a child is directly connected with the positive socialization of a child which is conceived as the fundamental grounds of a human being present in a specific social environment, the adaptation of an individual to the environment or the community of surrounding individuals while integration into the society relates with the self-development of the individual, his/her advancement and ambition to go for an objective in a certain activity; simultaneously, it also reveals the values promoted by a specific individual and is a way to be in positive relationship with others, to achieve objectives, to find sense in life and to participate in social activities. Academic researches have proven that children lacking emotional expression control are denoted by poorer academic adaptation; what is more, they experience difficulties in recognizing emotions of their peers and controlling emotions of their own which incites them to behave aggressively. In order to deal with these issues, efficient development of the control of emotional expression in children is necessary. The aim of the thesis is the analysis of the development of the control of emotional expression in the process of their socialization. The objectives of the thesis are as follows: 1) to analyze peculiarities of the course of the development of control of emotional expression in children (abbreviated V.E.I.K. [standing for act in Lithuanian]); 2) to single out achievements in the development of control of emotional expression in children in the framework of V.E.I.K. program; 3) to evaluate achievements in terms of the development of control of emotional expression in children a year after the completion of V.E.I.K. program. The object of the research is the development of control of emotional expression in children. The participants of the research were 8 students from Kaunas City X school participating in V.E.I.K. (4th to 8th forms) and two specialists of the school operating as group leaders of V.E.I.K. program. Methods of the research: an overview and analysis of relevant academic writings, the method of a structured interview, processing of research data and analysis of the research data. Having analyzed the achievements in terms of the control of emotional expression in children in the framework of V.E.I.K program it was established that in the course of V.E.I.K. activity, the behaviour and reasoning of the participating children were being altered, and the ability to evaluate one’s own feelings as well as feelings of others and to express one’s feelings adequately was being affected. The participating children acquired social, communication and feeling recognition skills which were being applied when overcoming fears, communicating with peers, pedagogues or family members; these skills were preserved in the majority of V.E.I.K. program participants a year after its implementation. Successes and failures regarding the application of the social skills and positive behaviour were determined by the students’ personalities, their parents, peers and the presence or absence of support in their environment