Using puppets to support children’s prosocial thinking and action: “What would we tell Pig and Frog to do?”

This article presents the findings from a collaborative action research (CAR) study undertaken by a small group of early childhood education teachers working in a New Zealand setting with children aged 3–4 years. The teachers’ shared aim was to explore and improve their teaching practices to more effectively support children’s prosocial behaviour and social development. Prosocial behaviour is an essential component of children’s social-emotional development and has been shown to be a critical factor for children’s positive life outcomes. As part of this action research project, the teachers adopted an intentional and integrated approach, which included implementing a scenario-based learning strategy using puppets to support children’s prosocial learning in the natural context of play and everyday routines.