Encouraging the development of social competence in young children

Abstract

To help children develop social competence, teachers need to understand differences between popular and unpopular children, know how to assess social competence, and employ techniques which aid the development of children's social skills. In general, popular children have developed skills and strategies which allow them to interact with their peers in various situations. Unpopular children engage in behaviors which are detrimental to peer interaction. Their behaviors and lack of skills increase the likelihood of peer rejection. Knowing how to interact with peers successfully is vitally important, for research shows that early popularity is associated with later positive outcomes, while early unpopularity is associated with later negative outcomes. To identify children who are rejected, neglected, or popular, teachers can employ several methods, including sociometric ratings and rankings, the picture nomination technique, informal observations, and checklists such as the California Preschool Competency Sca...