Development of Social Skills for Preschoolers: A Case Study in Vietnam

This study aims (1) to examine the current status of preschool children’s social skills in severalkindergartens in Hanoi by age, gender, and urban/suburban location, and (2) to pilot a set of educationalmeasures designed to enhance social skills for 5-year-old children. A mixed survey–experimental designwas employed. The survey sample comprised 603 children aged 3–5, 175 teachers, and 130 parents fromfour preschools. Data were collected through questionnaires, indirect rating scales, direct tests, andstructured observations, and analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA. The experimentwas implemented with 36 children in the experimental group and 36 children in the control group (allaged 5) during the 2024–2025 school year. Most children reached an average level of social skills (level 3),very few achieved a high level (level 4), and none were at level 1. Social skills increased with age; suburbanchildren scored higher than urban children; girls generally outperformed boys, although the genderdifference was not statistically significant. After the intervention, the mean scores and the proportion ofchildren at levels 3–4 in the experimental group increased markedly compared with both baseline and thecontrol group. Preschoolers’ social skills in the surveyed schools remain limited and are stronglyinfluenced by family–school–community contexts. The proposed system of social-skills educationmeasures proved feasible and effective at a pilot level, suggesting the need to strengthen collaborationamong families, schools, and communities in fostering children’s social skills. Received: 04 December 2025 / Accepted: 11 February 2026 / Published: March 2026