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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Social and Emotional Development

Social and emotional development

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

nounCore term

In child development & early education, social and emotional development means: A child's growing ability to understand and manage feelings, build relationships, get along with others and develop a sense of self.

In Turkish: sosyal-duygusal gelişim, sosyal ve duygusal gelişim

How it is used

Also written social-emotional development; school programmes use SEL (social and emotional learning). In the EYFS in England the matching area of learning is called personal, social and emotional development (PSED).

Example sentences

  1. Social and emotional development is just as important as early reading and maths.

  2. Her report shows good social and emotional development: she makes friends easily.

Common collocations

  • personal, social and emotional development
  • support social and emotional development
  • social-emotional skills
  • social and emotional learning
  • attachmentThe deep emotional bond a young child forms with the main people who care for them, which gives the child a sense of safety and comfort.
  • self-regulationThe ability to manage your own feelings, attention and behaviour, for example calming down after being upset or waiting for a turn.
  • empathyThe ability to understand and share how another person feels, for example noticing that a friend is sad and offering comfort.
  • well-beingThe state of feeling happy, healthy, safe and comfortable, both physically and emotionally.
  • self-esteemHow much a person values and likes themselves; in young children it grows from feeling loved, accepted and capable.

More terms: Social and Emotional Development

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