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Assessment of the Psychosocial Development of Children Attending Nursery Schools in Karen Refugee Camps in Thailand

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Abstract

The Karen, an ethnic minority group in Burma, have experienced a prolonged state of exile in refugee camps in neighboring Thailand because of ethnic conflict in their home country. Nursery schools in the three largest Karen refugee camps aim to promote the psychosocial development of young children by providing a child-centered, creative, learning-friendly environment. Psychosocial development and potentially concerning behaviors of two to five-year-old children in nursery schools were examined by use of a psychosocial checklist. The results showed that psychosocial development of the children increased with age, with most five year olds being proficient in playing cooperatively with other children. Sadness or emotional outbursts were observed for a third of the children. Difficulty separating from parents was also observed. The results also showed that children who attended the nursery schools for more than a year were better at playing cooperatively with other children and were more aware of their own and others’ feelings. On the other hand, children who were newer to the nursery schools were more polite and better at following rules and controlling their feelings when frustrated. The results indicate that nursery schools can be a promising practice to promote healthy psychosocial development of children in protracted refugee situations.

Résumé

Les Karens, un groupe ethnique minoritaire de Birmanie, ont vécu en état d’exil prolongé dans des camps de réfugiés dans le pays voisin de la Thaïlande en raison de conflits ethniques dans leur pays d’origine. Les écoles maternelles des trois plus vastes camps de réfugiés karens visent à promouvoir le développement psychosocial des jeunes enfants en mettant à leur disposition un environnement centré sur l’enfant, créatif et propice à l’apprentissage. Le développement psychosocial ainsi que les comportements potentiellement à risque d’enfants de maternelles de 2 à 5 ans ont été analysés à l’aide d’une liste de contrôle psychosociale. Les résultats révèlent que le développement psychosocial de ces enfants augmente en fonction de leur âge, la plupart des enfants de 5 ans démontrant une capacité à jouer en coopération avec d’autres enfants. Un tiers des enfants manifestent de la tristesse ou des accès d’émotions. On observe également qu’ils ont de la difficulté à se séparer de leurs parents. Les résultats montrent aussi que les enfants qui fréquentaient les écoles maternelles depuis plus d’un an étaient mieux disposés à jouer en coopération avec d’autres enfants et plus conscients de leurs propres sentiments et de ceux des autres. D’autre part, les enfants qui étaient plus nouveaux en maternelle étaient plus polis, suivaient mieux les règlements et contrôlaient mieux leurs émotions quand ils étaient frustrés. Les résultats indiquent que les écoles maternelles peuvent être une pratique prometteuse pour promouvoir le sain développement psychosocial d’enfants en situation prolongée de réfugiés.

Resumen

Los Karen, un grupo étnico minoritario de Birmania, han experimentado un estado de exilio prolongado en campos de refugiados en la vecina Tailandia debido al conflicto étnico en su tierra natal. Las guarderías de los tres campos de refugiados Karen más grandes, tienen el objetivo de promover el desarrollo psicosocial de los niños brindándoles de un ambiente enfocado en ellos, creativo y que invita al aprendizaje. Se examinó el desarrollo psicosocial y comportamientos potencialmente preocupantes de niños de dos a cinco años usando pautas de chequeo psicosocial. Los resultados mostraron que el desarrollo psicosocial de los niños aumenta con la edad, y que la mayoría de los niños de 5 años son capaces de jugar de manera cooperativa con otros niños. Un tercio de los niños presentó tristeza o arrebatos emocionales. También se observó dificultad al separarse de los padres. Los resultados también muestran que los niños que asistieron a guarderías por más de un año eran mejores jugando de forma cooperativa con otros niños y estaban más conscientes de los sentimientos de sí mismos y de los demás. Por otro lado, los niños nuevos en las guarderías eran más corteses y eran mejores siguiendo reglas y controlando sus sentimientos cuando se frustraban. Los resultados indican además que las guarderías pueden ser una práctica prometedora para promover un desarrollo psicosocial saludable de los niños que viven en campos de refugiados por períodos de tiempo prolongado.

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Notes

  1. The new military-backed government after the election of November 2010 implemented a series of reforms and signed a ceasefire with the Karen in January 2012; however, the situation on the ground in Karen areas has not substantially changed (Hindstrom, 2012; Karen Human Rights Group, 2012).

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Acknowledgments

The nursery school program and program evaluation were supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation. I would like to thank the staff of Taipei Overseas Peace Service for supporting the development of the psychosocial checklist and collecting input and final data from the teachers. Special appreciation goes to Muetae Thitiphanawan for providing information on the program, camp situation, and Karen culture. I also express gratitude to all the nursery school teachers for their great work with children and for completing the checklist for the evaluation. I would also like to thank Dr Charles Oberg for his support and feedback and Anne Maertz for her review and copy editing of the manuscript.

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    Akiko Tanaka

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Tanaka, A. Assessment of the Psychosocial Development of Children Attending Nursery Schools in Karen Refugee Camps in Thailand. IJEC 45, 279–305 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0077-7

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