Socioemotional Competencies of Indonesian Preschoolers:

Comparisons between the Pre-Pandemic and Pandemic Periods and

among DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta and West Java Provinces
Sri Indah Pujiastuti, Sofia Hartati & Jun Wang
Early Education and Development, Volume 33, 2022 - Issue 5
Published Online: 19 Jan 2022 | Views: 431 | Citations: 1
AbstractFull Text

ABSTRACT

Despite being the largest archipelago and the fourth populous country in the world,
Indonesia has received limited research attention to the socioemotional
development of its diverse child populations. As the corona virus 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic significantly interrupted the life of individuals and families all over the
world, it is also critical time to better understand the status and need of Indonesian
young children’s socioemotional development to inform corresponding practices
and policies. This study investigated the differences in Indonesian preschoolers’
socioemotional competencies between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, as
well as across three representative provinces of DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta, and
West Java. Teachers of 546 preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years old (M = 4.94, SD = .88,
51.3% male) were collected on children’s self-regulation, emotion and expression,
and social interaction before and during the pandemic and across the three
provinces. Research Findings: Results indicated significantly worse socioemotional
competencies of preschoolers during the pandemic in comparison to the pre-
pandemic period. In addition, preschoolers from DKI Jakarta displayed significantly
worse socioemotional competencies than their counterparts from the other two
provinces. Practice or Policy: Findings highlighted the socioemotional challenges that
Indonesian preschoolers encountered during the pandemic as well as the
heterogeneity embedded in diverse Indonesian children’s development.
Implications for parenting and interventions were generated to reduce children’s
socioemotional challenges and to support their development.