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Research Paper | Educational Psychology | Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026 | Pages: 797 - 808 | India
From Framework to Classroom: Field Application and Preliminary Evaluation of a Structured Bilingual Observation Checklist for Preoperational Behaviours in Early Childhood
Abstract: Early childhood classrooms provide important opportunities for observing children's emerging cognitive, social, and emotional competencies through naturally occurring activities and interactions. However, teachers may require structured observation frameworks that enable them to document developmental behaviours systematically without converting classroom observation into formal diagnostic assessment. Building on a previously published bilingual observational framework, the present study examined its field application through structured classroom observations of young children in early childhood settings. The observational framework comprised 16 indicators across four domains relevant to preoperational development: centration, conservation, symbolic play, and social-emotional learning (SEL). Observations were recorded using a three-level rating framework-Not Yet, Emerging, and Consistent-across a dataset of 41 observations. Descriptive analysis was conducted at the item and domain levels, together with examination of relationships among domains and internal consistency. The findings indicated comparatively stronger observed performance in symbolic play and SEL, while conservation and centration showed relatively lower domain scores. The overall 16-item checklist demonstrated moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's ? = .672), while the subscale coefficients were comparatively low. The findings suggest that structured bilingual observation can provide teachers with systematic information about children's classroom behaviours and may support more responsive instructional planning. However, the preliminary reliability findings indicate that the checklist should be regarded as an observational framework rather than a fully validated psychometric instrument. The study highlights the value of extending theoretically grounded observational tools into authentic classroom contexts and provides preliminary empirical evidence for their practical use in teacher education and early childhood settings.
Keywords: early childhood education, bilingual observation, preoperational development, classroom observation, teacher education, symbolic play, social-emotional learning, developmental observation
How to Cite?: Aruna Maruthi, "From Framework to Classroom: Field Application and Preliminary Evaluation of a Structured Bilingual Observation Checklist for Preoperational Behaviours in Early Childhood", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 797-808, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26811231235, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26811231235