Sensor Technology to Measure Social Engagement for Children with Behavioral Challenges

Abstract Social engagement is crucial for preschool children’s social, cognitive, and language development. Children with behavioral challenges or children who are English Language Learners (ELL) may experience difficulty in making meaningful social connections in inclusive preschool classrooms. Teachers often face challenges in continuously observing each child’s social engagement in early childhood education settings. Therefore, this exploratory study examined the social engagement patterns of preschool children across structured and unstructured activity periods using the Wearable Human Interaction Tracker (WHIT) sensor system. The study was conducted in an inclusive preschool classroom and included one target child with behavioral challenges who was also an ELL and five of his peers without social challenges. We compared the social engagement patterns of the target child with those of his peers. Results showed that the target child exhibited distinct patterns of social connectivity, peer-specific interactions, initiation and termination behaviors, and classroom area preferences compared to those of his peers. Findings explicitly showed that the target child had shorter interactions with peers but had stronger engagement during structured, teacher-guided activities. Study results suggest that using the WHIT sensor system can support monitoring of social engagement among preschoolers. The WHIT sensor system can provide objective data to complement teachers’ classroom observations in order to inform targeted interventions and teacher adaptations in inclusive preschool settings to support children who are ELL and/or have behavioral challenges.