Importance Of Social Competence Research Articles

Assertive skills: a comparison of two group interventions with Brazilian university students

The improvement or acquisition of socioemotional skills contributes to the academic and personal adaptation of university students. The way students think about themselves and others influence their social skills and well-being. Considering the importance of social competence for professional practice in the face of new social realities, the university must invest in programs that promote the socio-emotional development of students. This study compared the effects of interventions based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Psychoeducation on assertive skills and subjective well-being. This study involved 25 undergraduate students of a public university. The students were randomly allocated to three groups, including the Control group, and they were evaluated by means of questionnaires, inventories, scales, and written evaluation of the group process. The program consisted of 10 meetings and a 6-week follow-up. Irrational beliefs were reduced and their assertive skills’ scores increased in the post-intervention and follow-up evaluations, regardless of the group. Only verbal reports from participants indicated an increase in well-being. The students’ written reports after the end of the meetings indicate that the two forms of intervention were evaluated as promoting change by the students. One of the limitations of the study is the size of the groups. Despite the very small sample size, the study highlights that developing a set of flexible beliefs is fundamental to the exercise of assertiveness.

Social Competencies, Job Performance and Cultural Adjustment Among Expatriate Assignees In Malaysia

This study investigates the relationships and impact of social competencies on job performance and the mediating role of cultural adjustment of expatriates engaged in the ICT sector in Malaysia. Based on a quantitative survey with a sample of 301 expatriates, the findings of this study revealed that social competencies have a positive relationship with job performance. The findings also support the role of cultural adjustment in mediating the relationship between social competencies and job performance. The findings of this study support the results from some earlier studies and also bring out several new ideas such as the importance of social competencies. The findings of this study will significantly contribute to the advancement of knowledge in job performance and cultural adjustment and it is evident that expatriate social competencies facilitate expatriates’ job performance and cultural adjustment. The implications are in the areas of expatriate selection, training and support practices. It is recommended that organizations consider social competencies and cultural adjustment and implement suitable HR policies to select the right candidates, train and motivate them. The results of this study will add to the current body of knowledge as well as assist in creating foundational solutions to ensure success in expatriate global assignments in Malaysia.

Developmental cascades of social competence, achievement in school, and achievement on standardized assessments during the transition to adolescence and secondary school

IntroductionSocial and academic functioning are cornerstones of positive youth development and important to later educational and health outcomes. Yet, little is known about how the timing and direction of relationships between social and academic functioning vary by the type of achievement assessed and how the transition to adolescence influences these relationships. MethodThis study employs longitudinal structural equation modeling to examine the interrelationships of children's social competence, teacher ratings of school achievement, and standardized assessments of cognitive achievement in a cohort of 1048 children in the United States. Results& Conclusions: Results identify 1) direct and indirect pathways from children's social competence in grades three and five to their school achievement in grades five and six; 2) significant pathways between school and cognitive achievement across all assessment points that decline in magnitude as students enter high school; 3) the magnitude of pathways between social competence and school achievement far exceed those between social competence and cognitive achievement; and 4) social and maturational factors account for variation in these functions but do not confound the timing and direction of the pathways from one to the other function. Given the importance of social competence and academic achievement to positive development, these findings demonstrate elementary school as an optimal and foundational period to implement universal interventions to optimize social functioning and prevent later academic difficulties in secondary school.

Towards an interdisciplinary approach to wellbeing: Life histories and Self-Determination Theory in rural Zambia

What are the prospects for a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and methodologically plural approach to wellbeing? This question is addressed using Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a psychological theory based on quantitative empirical methods, to structure qualitative analysis of wellbeing in life history interviews in Chiawa, rural Zambia. Enquiry goes beyond simply reading across methods, disciplines and contexts, to consider fundamental differences in constructions of the human subject, and how these relate to understandings of wellbeing. Field research took place in two periods, August–November, 2010 and 2012. Analysis draws primarily on 46 individual case studies, conducted through open-ended interviews. These were identified through a survey with an average of 390 male and female household heads in each round, including 25% female headed households. As SDT predicts, the interviews confirm its key elements of autonomy, competence and relatedness as vital to wellbeing. However, these are expressed in ways that highlight material and relational, rather than psychological, factors. Key findings are: the mutual constitution of autonomy, competence and relatedness; the appreciation of autonomy as independence in action; the importance of social competence; and the centrality of relatedness. People appear as social and above all moral subjects. The paper concludes by endorsing SDT's utility in interdisciplinary approaches to wellbeing, but only if it admits its own cultural grounding in the construction of a psychological subject. This would go beyond recognising that autonomy, competence and relatedness may take socially and culturally distinctive forms, to questioning their universal status as basic psychological needs. Implications for organisations working on wellbeing are discussed.

The Importance of Social Competence in Teaching Foreign Languages

The Importance of Social Competence in Teaching Foreign Languages

Developmental Trajectories of Children’s Social Competence in Early Childhood: The Role of the Externalizing Behaviors of Their Preschool Peers

The construct of social competence encompasses a set of discrete skills considered important for the formation of positive relationships with others (Raver & Zigler, 1997). Despite the importance of social competence, little is known about its developmental course through early childhood. In addition, little is known about the influence of preschool classroom-level peer characteristics on the developmental trajectory of social competence.In this study, we fit multilevel models of change to explore children’s trajectories of social competence in early childhood. We investigated whether critical features of children’s trajectories differed systematically by observed aggregate differences in the externalizing behaviors of their preschool peers—a salient aspect of one of the first social contexts in which children engage. We found that children’s social competence grows over time in early childhood and has a statistically significant, positive relationship with the classroom level of externalizing behaviors. Evidence of this relationship disappears when the quality of the classroom relational climate is controlled for in the multilevel regression model.

Understanding early childhood teachers’ beliefs and self-stated practices about social competence instructional strategies in the context of developmentally appropriate practice: a comparison of preservice and in-service teachers in the United States

The current study is an examination of early childhood preservice and in-service teachers’ beliefs and self-stated practices about social competence instructional strategies, developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), and the relationship between the two. Teachers in this study generally believed that the social competence instructional strategies were more acceptable than feasible in the consideration of their classroom practice. Among the environmental, natural activity and intensive strategies, the intensive strategies were the least acceptable and feasible. In-service teachers showed stronger beliefs in the acceptability of the strategies. These results are supported by the self-stated practice based on the specific strategies that they use or observe. In-service teachers stated various environmental and natural activity strategies that they currently use. Preservice teachers reported the importance of social competence with relevant examples of classroom practice from the field experiences. In an investigation of the relationship between social competence instructional strategies and DAP, there was a statistically significant relationship between beliefs about overall acceptability and feasibility of social competence instructional strategies and DAP. The findings expand the literature about domain specific teachers’ beliefs within the DAP research, and offer implications for early childhood teacher educators to provide tailored support for preservice and in-service teachers in the area of social competence instructional strategies as well as DAP.

The Development of Teacher’s Social Competence in Rural Mountain Elementary School

This paper attempted to illuminate the importance of social competence for elementaryschool teacher in rural mountain environment. The author analyzes the essential features, socialand pedagogical challenges in rural schools, sensible changes characteristic of the modern village.Special attention is paid to the rural mountain school as a center of educational and socialactivities, its peculiarities and factors causing them, including the effect of mountain environment,climatic conditions, administration method, traditions, etc. It’s pointed out that teachers are alsoexposed to the effect of mountain environment. They work under tough weather conditions, oftenin a closed team, in the atmosphere of professional, social, economic and political informationscarcity, which leads to a rapid “aging”, gradual professional, social decline and social competencedevelopment recession. The author proves the need to consider the environmental impact in thedesign of modern school, the need for innovative processes while maintaining the national spiritand the environment; the development of social competence of elementary school teacher inconstantly changing social rural mountain environment is in the focus of attention.

Social competencies identification for realization of successful engineering practice

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify the main social competencies that future engineers need to become recognized professionals. In the paper the key competencies for contemporary engineers are examined and the focus is given on the importance of social competencies for professional development. A competency research model is developed taking into consideration the current research published in scientific papers, gathered opinion of students from Technical University of Sofia and early‐aged operating engineers.Design/methodology/approach – The raised research questions are: “Which social competencies do future engineers need to possess in order to be successful and self‐efficient in their personal and professional development?” and “Does the set of essential social competencies vary in different scenarios of engineering practice?”Findings – The received results after detailed analysis of university students' vote and opinion of the operating young engineers about what kind of social abilities ar...

Children who experience difficulties with learning: Mother and child perceptions of social competence

There is an emphasis on the social competence of children who have difficulties with learning as a significant percentage also experience reduced social skills. Social competence in the classroom is becoming increasingly important as the school curriculum incorporates group work and socially directed activities for purposes of learning. A goal of occupational therapy for children with learning difficulties and their parents is that they 'fit' into their social group and form friendships. While teachers are able to identify social skills that are required for life at school, less is known about how children perceive their interactions. This study aimed to explore social interaction during occupational performance at school and at home from the perception of children with learning difficulties and their mothers. Participants included 10, 8- to 12-year-old children who had difficulties with learning and their 10 mothers. Children were interviewed using semi-structured focus groups. Mothers participated in semi-structured interviews. Four main themes emerged from this study, including the importance of social skills, effects of poor social skills, difficulties with planning and problem solving in social situations and impact of social competence on a child's occupational performance. The study revealed that social participation is perceived to be an integral part of the child's ability to participate in occupational performance, and that children have definite perspectives on the importance of social competence. Children in this study indicated that their social skills were adequate when in an one-to-one situation but not in a group.

Doing friendship during the second year of life in a Swedish preschool

A number of studies within early childhood education and care indicate the importance of social competence. This article focuses on how friendship is created among very young children in Swedish preschools. The study was carried out within a toddler unit with 15 children. Six 1-year-old children, three girls and three boys, were observed during nine months. The ethnographic method follows a phenomenological tradition with participatory observations, including field notes, photos and video recordings. The findings show how young toddlers create friendships: 1-year-olds monitor and pay attention to individual peers, displaying intentionality and agency by spontaneously greeting their peers, by offering play invitations, and by helping peers. Mutual awareness, joint attention, shared smiles, coordinated locomotion, as well as other types of synchronized actions are parts of non-verbal elements in emerging friendship. One pedagogical implication of this study is to take young children's friendship into account when putting together preschool groups.

Social stories: an intervention technique for children with Autism

The importance of social competence and acquisition of social skills in various domains is not in question. While typically developing children may intuitively recognize what is appropriate behaviour in different social situations, children with autism often find social situations confusing and appear isolated and oblivious to the outside world. A Social Story is a concise narrative about a situation, concept, behaviour, or social skill that is written and implemented according to specific guidelines. The purpose of this study was to provide information on how to write and implement Social Stories as an intervention technique and examine theoretical background of the intervention. Information on the research evidence of the effectiveness of Social Stories will be examined in the study as well.

Behavioral Intervention Planning: Increasing Appropriate Behavior of a Socially Withdrawn Student

Abstract This study examined the effects of an assessment-based intervention plan on the appropriate classroom behavior of a socially withdrawn, Hispanic, learning disabled, third grade student. The study focused on (1) the effects of peer mediation as part of a behavioral intervention package of empirically validated components, (2) the effects of aligning assessment data to the BIP, and (3) the social validity of the assessment and intervention process. Three major strategies linked directly to assessment outcomes were worked into a behavioral intervention plan for the socially withdrawn child in the study: social skill development, self-management including positive reinforcement, and peer mediation. A single subject ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the intervention. The socially withdrawn student showed immediate marked improvement in socially appropriate classroom behavior and completion of his academic work. Treatment gains maintained over time as reinforcement was thinned out. Social validity evaluation included social comparison (i.e., normative sample) and subjective evaluation by the teacher, student and peer through questionnaire data, with special consideration given to the degree of usability. ********** Social competence is essential for success in school (Kerr & Nelson, 2006; Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004). Development of social competence facilitates (1) satisfactory school performance--including teacher acceptance and adequate academic achievement, (2) positive social relationships with peers, (3) peer acceptance and friendships, and (4) the ability to adapt and cope with the demands of school environments (Marchant et al., in press; Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004). The importance of social competence has been well documented; however efforts to foster appropriate school behavior and positive social relations in students with behavioral problems have often been unsuccessful and discouraging (Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001). Educators and researchers must continue to seek empirically validated interventions for increasing social competency (e.g., speaking aloud, asking and answering questions, socializing with peers) in students who lack social skills, particularly those who display internalizing behaviors (Marchant et al., in press). Students who display symptoms of anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal are typically classified as internalizers (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001; Gresham & Kern, 2004; Merrell, Blade, Lund, & Kempf, 2003). Research has demonstrated that these symptoms have a negative influence on children's academic performance, social interaction with adults and peers, and physical health during the school-age years (Merrell & Walker, 2004; Flook, Repetti, & Ullman, 2005; Merrell, 2003,1994). However, internalizing behavioral disorders (EBD) are characterized as disturbing to the individual, rather than disturbing to others or the environment (Kauffman, 2001). Similarly, teachers often view students with internalizing behavior as merely shy, failing to recognize the ramifications of this behavior on current and future student outcomes (Marchant et al., in press). Children with internalizing behaviors are often "quiet" and "invisible"; thus they present unique challenges in referral, assessment, and intervention practices in schools. School personnel typically use "reactive" methods (e.g., office disciplinary referrals) for identifying students in need of behavioral services (Nelson, Benner, Reid, Epstein, & Currin, 2002; Walker, Cheney, Stage, & Blum, 2005). Students with internalizing problems exhibit anti-social behavior that is covert; therefore teachers identify and refer these children for needed services less often than they refer children who act out (Lane, Gresham, & O'Shaughnessy, 2002). Thus most research regarding internalizing behavior problems has focused on assessment and classification rather than intervention practices (Merrell, 2001). …

Important aspects of care and assistance for children with cancer.

This study examined aspects of care and assistance that are important for 8- to 12-year-old children with cancer. Data were gathered through interviews with 25 children, 31 parents, and 32 nurses. Each participant was asked: "What caring aspects are important for you/your child/the child to feel cared for?" and "What help, if any, do you/your child/the child need outside the hospital?" Data were analyzed by content analysis. The following important caring aspects were identified: amusement, clinical competence, continuity, family participation, honest communication, information, participation in decision making, satisfaction of basic needs, social competence, and time. Children most frequently mentioned the importance of social competence, amusement, and satisfaction of basic needs. Parents and nurses most frequently mentioned the importance of information, social competence, and participation in decision making. The following important assistance aspects were also identified: emotional support, family life, meeting friends, practical support, rehabilitation, and school support. Two-thirds of the children did not mention that they needed any help outside the hospital. According to parents and nurses, one third of the children needed emotional support, whereas none of the children mentioned a need for this.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE THROUGH SIMULATION

Project management is a necessity for coordinating the process of problem solving. Together with process models, the way from a problem to a solution can be managed. But despite the importance of project management, the preparation of future project leaders in universities is often inadequate. In particular, the central role of the project leader and the leader's position between goals, time limits, and fixed budgets on the one hand and customer and contractor on the other is insufficiently trained. This paper presents an approach to obtaining project management expertise by working with a simulation tool that especially focuses on the importance of social competence.

Evaluating the social competence of young children: A review of the literature

Recent longitudinal studies of established federally funded educational programs designed for young children lacking educational experiences suggest that positive long‐term effects were acquired through programs that focused on the development of the social competencies of the children. Although researchers differ on a specific definition and method of evaluation of social competence, the competencies generally accepted as social competence appear to be necessary for success in school and are advantageous to the child as he recognizes and becomes a part of the “culture of literacy”. Researchers agree on the complexity of the social competence construct. Research confirms cognition influences from family, community, and biological factors. Despite the widely accepted importance of social competence in programs for young children, measurement instruments vary. More research is being conducted in federal, state, and private programs on the effects of social competence on success in school. Organizations asso...