Social development is the process through which children learn what behavior is acceptable and expected. A set of standards is imposed on the child at birth that reflects values of the family and the society in which the child lives.
Indeed enhancing social intelligence builds a set of skills that may be among the most essential for life success of many kinds.
Social development begins at birth. Within the first few months of life, the infant smiles, coos, and plays in response to a human voice, face or physical contact. Young children are influenced from birth by a deliberate attempt on the part of adults to guide them in ways that society expects.
· Parents attempt to transmit behavior patterns that are characteristic of their religion, culture, and gender, educational and ethnic background. Children imitate what they see; they adapt social expectations to their own personality.
· The family, caregivers, and the community contribute to the children’s’ social world and to the values and attitudes that are developed.
· Cooperation, generosity, loyalty and honesty are not inborn, but they must be passed on to the child by older people.
· Through socialization, the customary roles that boys and girls play are also transmitted. Children come to understand how mothers, fathers, grandparents, males and females are supposed to act.
From the home setting, the child then moves to the school and the teacher.
· In general socialization process in a school revolves around the child’s relationship with other people.
· During this time of their lives, children work out a separate set of relationships with adults other than their parents. They establish different relationships with adults than they do with other children and most importantly they learn to interact with other children.
· Another important facet of socialization in the school involves the development of a sense of community. A program me’s emotional climate and teacher’s behavior contribute not only to the children’s sense of personal safety and belonging, but also to the value of a web of relationships that is sustained by a process of communication.
Social competence
This involves the skill and personal knowledge children develop to deal with challenges and opportunities they face in life with others. They generally focus on an individual’s ability to initiate and sustain a satisfying reciprocal relationship with peers.
Components of social competence
· Emotional regulation: Ability to regulate emotions
· Social knowledge and understanding: knowledge of enough language and norms to interact successfully. Understanding others’ feelings and reactions.(empathy)
· Social skills: social approach patterns, attention to others, exchange of information and handling aggression.
· Social disposition: habits or characteristic way of responding to experiences.
Why is social competence important?
· Such children are happier than those who are less competent.
· Children’s social relations have been linked to academic achievement.
· Lack of social competence has been linked to rejection by peers, poor self-esteem, and poor academic performance.
Dimensions of Child’s Social development
All areas of children’s development play a part in learning social skills;
· Having the confidence to try joining a group calls upon emotional skills
· Remembering children’s names or how a game works is a cognitive task.
· Using your words to express ideas or feelings requires language.
· Being able to play chase or walk in high heels for a dress up game requires certain physical dexterity
In the early years, children mature socially in discernable developmental stages. From birth to age three, children’s interest in others begins with a mutual gazing and social smile in the early months (birth through to eight months), continues with exploration of others as some anxious behaviour around strangers in the crawler and walker stages (eight to eighteen months) and develops into the enjoyment of peers and adults along with awareness of other’s rights and feelings as a toddler and a two-year-old preschool (eighteen months to three years)
In consideration years, children learn to control their aggressive impulses, think about others besides themselves, and resist doing what they shouldn’t do this learning translates into four basic expectations. They will;
- · Show interest in others
- · Learn right from wrong
- · Learn to get along with others
- · Learn a role for themselves that takes into consideration their own unique self, gender, race, ethnicity and abilities.
For a young child, social development means the steady movement away from the egocentric position of self as a central point towards a more social-centric viewpoint.
Children learn social skills in several, predictable ways;
· First, the brain is wired to look for patterns when an infant smiles and is met with a reciprocal smile, a pattern of responsiveness and attachment is begun.
· They are active learners, asserted Piaget and others, who will observe and experiment, learning first-hand what happens when they try something.
· Next children have multiple ways of learning. As Gardner (1993) points out there are at least eight ways to express intelligence. Since teachers do not
Know each child’s way of learning; it is best to try a variety of approaches when teaching social skills.
Social skills in early childhood
Social skills are strategies children learn that enable them to behave appropriately in many environments. They help children learn to initiate or manage social interactions in a variety of settings and with a number of people. These are skills learnt with adults, with peers, in a group and as an individual.
Social cognition
Social cognition is the application of thinking to personal and social experiences
· Social cognition requires children to interpret events and makes decisions, to consider the impact of their behaviour on others and to consider the cause as well as consequences of an action. Cognitive skills are necessary when we ask children to seek alternative solutions to social problems.
The role of the teacher
· A major role for the early childhood teacher is to see that children have enjoyable social contacts and to help motivate children towards a desire to be with each other.
· The teacher has an important role to play as children learn the give and take social interaction.
· In the role of social organizer, the teacher creates a physical and inter personal environment that promotes the development of children’s social skills.
· Plan and arrange a social environment. Establishing co-acting environment, declares Bos (1990) helps children in a way of interacting with others more
Often one-on-one than in larger groups, with an emphasis on process rather than product.
· Help children develop trust- trusting, in themselves, their peers, and their teachers is an essential part of learning about social relationships. Teachers enhance children’s social knowledge as they gradually improve their sense of trust.
· Facilitate children’s interactions and interpret their behaviour- to help young children understand each other and to pave way for continued cooperation, the teacher reports and reflects on what is happening.
Conclusion
Early in life, children become aware of their social nature. The socialization process begins under the guidance of parents and family members. When children enter group settings, they are further exposed to behaviour, social rules and attitudes that foster social development. Much of the child’s social repertoire is learnt by playing with other children.
Children learn a great many social skills in these early years they learn to enjoy and trust adults other than their parents. In their relationships with others, children learn ways to cooperate, disagree share, communicate and assert themselves effectively. Teachers plan and arrange the early childhood environment in ways that will promote social growth and interaction. The adults help children understand each other’s actions and motivations by interpreting the behaviour of the children as they play.
