The Importance of

Facilitating Social Skills in Early Childhood

 

Why should

we increase

social skills?

Social skill development has

taken a “back seat” in

education.

Social skills and stability are at the

core of human well-being.

People need the ability to interview

well, be a team member in the workplace, and

know how to communicate well

with others.

Students need solid social

skills in order to be successful, productive, and

happy.

Teachers need to learn how to

build communication and social skills

both in themselves and in their students.

School curriculum has heavy

emphasis on academic skills

such as reading, mathematics and handwriting, often to the exclusion

social skills

Children suffer because they do

not have adequate social skills with which to navigate their

current and future environments.

Why do social skills matter?

The Roles of Academics and Social Skills in Early Childhood Education

* The social/emotional plays a large role in student well-being and achievement * Social skills improve academic achievement

Brain Research and the Social/Emotional*The field of neuroscience has proven:* Development of social skills positively affects and changes

the brain * Social skills can be learned at any time in life (Davidson, 2012)

Connection to Well-Being*Learning is positively affected when emotions are positive (

Trigwell, Ellis & Han, 2012)

Implications for Educators*We must connect cognitive & affective domains to ready

students for their future (Vela, 2007)

How can we facilitate the learning of social skills in schools?

Social skills can be increased through

innovative curriculum,

both intentional and emergent.

We must empower schools to intentionally take action

to augment the social stability of their students.

The Framework for 21st Century Learning includes the following as essential for preparing students

for the future: communication

collaboration flexibility

adaptabilitysocial

and cross-cultural skills Social skills play a key role in these goals. Teachers need to learn how to build communication and social skills both in themselves and in their students.

Living in a global society involves:

* Understanding other cultures * Learning respect and tolerance

* Focusing on social justice * Creating a global climate which

enables all living creatures to coexist in harmony and peace

Social skills and stability are at the core of human well-being.

Davidson, R., & Begley, S. (2012). The emotional life of your brain: How its unique patterns affect the way you think, feel, and live--and how you can change them. New York NY: Penguin Group, Inc.

Framework for 21st century learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.p.21.org/our-work/p21-framework

Jones, L., & Harcourt, D. (2013). Social competencies and the early years learning framework: Understanding critical influences on educator capacity. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(1), 4-10.

McKenzie, B. (2010). Should education colleges better prepare teachers?. Retrieved from http://educationfrontblog.dallasnews.com/2010/10/should-education-colleges-bett.html/

Preble, B., & Gordon, R. (2011). Transforming school climate and learning: Beyond bullying and compliance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Rubin, K. (1983). The social problem-solving test-revised. Unpublished manual.

Trigwell, K., Ellis, R., & Han, F. (2012). Relations between students' approaches tolearning, experienced emotions and outcomes of learning. Studies in Higher Education, 37(7), 811-824. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2010.549220

Vela, Jr., R. (2007). Emotional intelligence: An education-based approach to improvestudent achievement. National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal, 20(1), 80-94.

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