Self-Understanding in Kindergarten Children and its Relationship to the Emotional Warmth of Their Mothers

Abstract

The current research aims to identify the level of self-understanding among kindergarten children and its relationship to their mothers' emotional warmth. The researcher adopted a descriptive correlational approach. Two scales were developed: a self-understanding scale with 20 items to be completed by the teachers and a mother's emotional warmth scale with 20 items. These scales were administered to a sample of 150 children. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the level of self-understanding among kindergarten children, with the differences favoring the children themselves, as their mean score was higher than the hypothetical mean. Similarly, the results showed there are statistically significant differences in the level of emotional warmth among the mothers of kindergarten children, as their mean score was higher than the hypothetical mean and the calculated t-value was higher than the hypothetical mean. The results, as analyzed in the tabulated study, showed a strong positive correlation between self-understanding in kindergarten children and the emotional warmth of their mothers; the greater the emotional warmth, the greater the children's self-understanding. The researcher recommends the importance of expressing love and unconditional acceptance to children, listening to them, and encouraging their independence and achievement, as these actions have a positive impact on strengthening their self-concept.