Social-emotional Competencies In Children
Surely you have heard about emotional education and the importance it has in the integral development of children. The main objective of this type of education is to promote the acquisition of socio-emotional skills. These are essential for the little ones to grow up relating correctly with the environment.
Socio-emotional competencies in children
According to the authors Rafael Bisquerra Alzina and Nuria Pérez Escoda, socio-emotional competencies can be defined as:
Thus, in the development of this set of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes, the following acts stand out:
- Identify and regulate one’s own feelings, emotions, and behaviors.
- Recognize your own personal qualities.
- Recognize and understand the feelings and points of view of others.
- Work and strive to achieve personal goals.
- Accept and respect differences between people.
- Use positive communication.
- Prevent, manage and resolve interpersonal conflicts constructively.
- Act based on ethical and civic values.
- Make responsible decisions.
- Contribute to the well-being of people.
All of this can be classified into five categories. Which we must know to offer children a complete education.
Classification of socio-emotional competencies
As we mentioned before, we must keep in mind a series of key aspects to instill these skills in the little ones. Thus, the different socio-emotional competencies can be grouped into five categories.
Emotional awareness
It can be defined as being aware of your own emotions and the emotions of others. Understanding them and naming each one of them. It also refers to being able to appreciate the emotional climate of a given situation.
Emotional regulation
It is about handling, managing, expressing and coping with emotions correctly, taking into account that emotional states influence cognition and behavior.
Emotional autonomy
It refers to developing a series of characteristics and elements related to personal self-management, such as:
- High self-esteem.
- Positive attitude towards life.
- Responsibility.
- Critical analysis of social norms.
- Emotional self-efficacy.
- Resilience
Interpersonal intelligence
It is the ability to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of others, establishing healthy social relationships. Which implies practicing positive and effective communication, showing respect, empathy, prosocial attitudes, assertiveness, cooperation, etc.
Life and wellness skills
They are skills necessary to face daily life in a satisfactory way, such as:
- Set goals and objectives.
- Make decisions and take responsibility.
- Seek support and help when required.
- Recognize and respect the rights and duties of one’s own and of others.
So one can organize life in a balanced way, experiencing deep subjective well-being.
Learning socio-emotional competencies
Although during childhood it is necessary to promote socio-emotional skills, we must bear in mind that, to acquire some of them, it is necessary to present a certain degree of maturity. In short, it can be said that learning in emotional education is a process that begins in childhood, but continues throughout life.
