UNIT 4: Introduction
Social Skills
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Key Words/Phrases
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Definition
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Influence
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To have an impact on someone's behaviour and character development.
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Introduction
This unit introduces social skills and looks at how social skills of the week can be used as both a visual and practical teaching tool. The unit looks at how social skills are linked to Peace and Values Education (PVE), gives examples of social skills and suggests how to use the social skills of the week teaching aid in the classroom
Positive virtues and values, promoted in the school community, lead to the development of positive social skills. The Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) states that learners should progress from “showing an understanding of and start(ing) to put into practice some basic virtues” at the pre-primary level to “practic(ing) cardinal virtues in his/her daily life” at the secondary level. The cardinal virtues are considered to include wisdom, justice, temperance and fortitude.
PVE is explained as “the process of acquiring values and knowledge, and developing attitudes, skills and behaviour to live in harmony with oneself, with others and with the natural environment”.
Ultimately, the CBC states that learners are expected to be able to “demonstrate respect for the cultural identity, heritage and values of themselves and others”; and “practice appropriate civic, moral and/or religious norms and values”.
Focusing on social skill development in the classroom is essential for PVE in order to nurture active citizenship in our learners.
At Umubano Academy, the teachers choose one social skill to focus on and to develop in their learners every week. This photograph shows learners practising the social skill chosen by teachers in Nursery 1 – Primary 6 in one week at Umubano Academy. Here the social skill of the week was “taking turns”.