Polar coordinate analysis of social interactions at preschool: a pattern oriented approach

Abstract Child behavior in the classroom has been largely studied targeting desired or undesired isolated behaviors and their associated factors and consequences, but there has been less attention to the dynamic relation with other behaviors inside the sequential patterns children exhibit in their natural contexts. Based on the mixed methods perspective and a pattern-oriented approach, an observational field study was conducted with three focal preschool participants and their classmates to detect configurations of behavioral acts in the classroom across three consecutive semesters. A QUAL-QUAN-QUAL succession of stages was conducted to vectorize observational data with a polar coordinate analysis technique, to identify persistence and relations between different behaviors inside the sequential pattern registered with the Behavioral Observation of Social Interaction System. Results show an excitatory relation between academic activity as a focal and as a conditioned behavior, which indicates strong persistence and a developmental trend of consolidation over 18 months of observation. Different patterns were identified in the relation between academic activity and other responses (non-academic or social). The identification and vectorial description of these dynamic relations contribute to explain subjects’ behavioral persistence, the nature of the interactions among the various components of the behavioral patterns identified, and their stability and change, which might be useful for educational goals of shaping and orienting self-regulation and on- task behavior at school.