professional development tools available to both parents and early childhood professionals, outlining activities, strategies and ideas that can help to enhance social and emotional wellbeing in children. Although the tool is widely applied and provides a useful common language for engaging – in difficult conversations about developmental concerns caution needs to be exercised around the – validity of using the normative based tools such as the DECA for high-risk or culturally and linguistically diverse groups (Bultosky-Shearer, Fernandez & Rainelli, 2013). Mayr and Ulich’s PERIK instrument Overview In response to a perceived lack of empirically sound research in the area of children’s wellbeing, Toni Mayr and Michaela Ulrich developed an empirically informed tool to observe and assess the wellbeing of children in early childhood settings: Positive Entwicklung und Resilienz im Kindergartenalltag (PERIK; Positive development and resilience in kindergarten). Instrument Description Six dimensions of social-emotional wellbeing are identified by Mayr and Ulich: Making contact/social performance Self-control/thoughtfulness Self-assertiveness Emotional stability/coping with stress Task orientation Pleasure in exploration Each scale has a further six item-descriptions under each heading giving observable examples of each of the dimensions. The dimensions cover emotions, social process and interactions and can be used both quantitatively (using the summary scores to measuring individual children’s capacity systematically with other children of similar age/gender), or qualitatively (to develop learning environments that support the development of social-emotional wellbeing based on the dimensions outlined). In addition to the dimensions identified there is a booklet containing practical suggestions and examples of how early childhood educators can support and reinforce the dimensions, ranging from individual activities to more comprehensive structuring of learning environments. Discussion The PERIK scale provides an easy-to-use positive approach to the assessment of wellbeing in young children. The language and terminology is familiar and consistent with contemporary definitions of the characteristics of what wellbeing looks like (Laevers, 2005; Bernard, 2004), and the
professional development tools available to both parents and early childhood professionals, outlining activities, strategies and ideas that can help to enhance social and emotional wellbeing in children. Although the tool is widely applied – and provides a useful common language for engaging in difficult conversations about developmental concerns – caution needs to be exercised around the validity of using the normative based tools such as the DECA for high-risk or culturally and linguistically diverse groups (Bultosky-Shearer, Fernandez & Rainelli, 2013). Mayr and Ulich’s PERIK instrument Overview In response to a perceived lack of empirically sound research in the area of children’s wellbeing, Toni Mayr and Michaela Ulrich developed an empirically informed tool to observe and assess the wellbeing of children in early childhood settings: Positive Entwicklung und Resilienz im Kindergartenalltag (PERIK; Positive development and resilience in kindergarten). Instrument Description Six dimensions of social-emotional wellbeing are identified by Mayr and Ulich: Making contact/social performance Self-control/thoughtfulness Self-assertiveness Emotional stability/coping with stress Task orientation Pleasure in exploration Each scale has a further six item-descriptions under each heading giving observable examples of each of the dimensions. The dimensions cover emotions, social process and interactions and can be used both quantitatively (using the summary scores to measuring individual children’s capacity systematically with other children of similar age/gender), or qualitatively (to develop learning environments that support the development of social-emotional wellbeing based on the dimensions outlined). In addition to the dimensions identified there is a booklet containing practical suggestions and examples of how early childhood educators can support and reinforce the dimensions, ranging from individual activities to more comprehensive structuring of learning environments. Discussion The PERIK scale provides an easy-to-use positive approach to the assessment of wellbeing in young children. The language and terminology is familiar and consistent with contemporary definitions of the characteristics of what wellbeing looks like (Laevers, 2005; Bernard, 2004), and the
AssessmentofWellbeinginEarlyChildhoodEducationandCareLiteratureReview.docx