To be a successful social member of human society there are many things one should know and be able to do. Simple things such as greeting someone in an appropriate way may be taken for granted by adults, but young children who are new to this society need to understand and acquire those social competencies. In early childhood, social competence has been defined as “the ability of young children to successfully and appropriately select and carry out their interpersonal goals” (Guralnick, 1990, p. 4), and socially competent young children have been described as “those who engage in satisfying interactions and activities with adults and peers” (Katz & McClellan, 1997, p. 1). Thus, social competence is indexed by effectiveness and appropriateness in human interaction and relationships.
Important components of social competence
The descriptions presented above focus primarily on the quality of interaction, as a component of relationship building and maintenance. Others have taken a broader view of social competence. Social competence has been described as involving the personal knowledge and skills which persons develop in order to deal effectively with life’s many choices, challenges, and opportunities (Leffert, Benson, & Roehlkepartan, 1997). Building from this description, social competence has been conceptualized as consisting of six categories of competence: Adoption of social values, development of a sense of personal identity, acquisition of interpersonal skills, learning how to regulate personal behavior in accord with societal expectations, planning and decision-making, and development of cultural competence (Kostelnik et al., 2002). In the sections that follow, each of these components of social competence will be described.
Self-regulation
Self-regulation includes the abilities to control impulses, delay gratification, resist temptation and peer pressure, reflect on one’s feelings, and monitor oneself (Kostelnik et al., 2002). Much of self-regulation involves the management of emotion. Emotional regulation is “the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions... to accomplish one’s goals” (Thompson, 1994, pp. 27–28). In a recent study, preschoolers’ emotional competence, including self-regulation, was found to contribute significantly to their long-term social competence (Denham et al., 2003). Much of this ability to regulate emotions develops from interaction with primary caregivers, from the child’s inborn temperament, and from the match between caregiving and temperament (Calkins, 1994). However, as children enter the peer setting of early childhood programs, they continue to learn how to deal with various emotions such as frustration, joy, fear, anxiety, and anger (Cole, Michel, & Teti, 1994). Part of a teacher’s role in strengthening social competence is to help children constructively channel and manage their feelings and impulses.
Interpersonal knowledge and skills
Social competence also includes understanding others’ needs and feelings, articulating one’s own ideas and needs, solving problems, cooperating and negotiating, expressing emotion, “reading” social situations accurately, adjusting behavior to meet the demands of different social situations, and initiating and maintaining friendships (Kostelnik et al., 2002; Odom et al., 2002). Acquiring social knowledge and mastering social skills are difficult and comprehensive tasks for young children; once children have learned new social knowledge and skills, they need to know when to use them, where to use them, and how to choose from among them (McCay & Keyes, 2002). Development and refinement of these skills is facilitated by the guidance of an informed teacher who knows when and how to offer support and teaching. Early childhood teachers can utilize a multitude of strategies and practices to enhance children’s social knowledge and skills.
