Social Development in Children - Literature review Example

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN A STEINER SCHOOL AND MAINSTREAM SCHOOL INTRODUCTION Social development in children is a topic that has received a great deal of attention in the literature, especially within the past thirty years. Relationships with peers, siblings, teachers, parents, and other significant adults have all been studied in an attempt to understand social development and its impact on later functioning. The kinds of relationships that a person develops with various individuals can affect the way that person relates to other people later in life. Peer relationships are thought to have a major impact on both a child’s current and later functioning. William James was the first person to write about the importance of social relationships. James asserted that “we have an innate propensity to get ourselves noticed, and noticed favorably, by our kind” (James, cited in Berndt & Burgy, 1996, p. 171). This paper aims to examine the importance of social development for children and discuss in details how primary schools through various intervention techniques and strategies can positively impact on pupils’ social development. UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CHILDREN Harry Stack Sullivan developed perhaps the first comprehensive theory about the importance of social development in childhood (Mannarino, 1980; Smollar & Youniss, 1982). Sullivan based his theory on clinical observations of children. He believed that a child passes through three stages of social development. In the first stage, between ages two and four, the child’s main relationships are with his or her family members. “The young child is heavily preoccupied with building his ‘self-dynamism’ which largely evolves from experiences of approbation and/or disapproval from the parents” (Mannarino, 1980, p. 50). In the second stage, between four and nine years of age, a child forms peer relationships to meet his or her own needs, specifically “to enhance his/her own status and popularity” (Mannarino, 1980, p. 51). Finally, beginning in preadolescence, the individual begins to develop “chumships”, which are relationships with same sex peers characterised by “intimacy..., mutual interaction”, and the development of a “sense of humanity” (Mannarino, 1980, p. 51). Sullivan also asserted that peer relationships were important in development because the “foundations of mutual respect and understanding were….found in the context of peer relations” (Smollar & Youniss, 1982, p. 280). Sullivan’s theory was the first to incorporate both peer acceptance and friendship in understanding social development in children. It is important to understand that the primary school years represent an important foundational period, setting the stage for children’s early school experiences and kindergarten functioning. During early childhood a gradual increase in social competence occurs as children become more cognitively and emotionally mature and able to self-regulate. This increase in competence is matched by a decrease in aggressive behaviour, including tantrums (LaFreniere et al., 2002). The reciprocal interaction between social competence and academic performance seems to suggest that it is not enough that young children enter primary school with basic academic skills, but that they must also have well developed social skills (Missall & Hojnoski, 2008). Children who reach the primary school with social skill deficits are at risk for future behaviour problems, disciplinary action, and academic failure as well as school dropout (Raver, 2002). Behavioural and academic difficulties are identifiable by primary school age. These difficulties are not always indicative of the onset of more serious learning or emotional disorders; in fact, they may reflect age-related developmental stages within the range of typical behaviour (Emond et al, 2007). However, children who consistently exhibit these behaviour patterns may suffer both immediate and longterm consequences. Problematic early peer interaction is typically conflict-ridden and aggressive and can lead to a destructive reciprocal pattern of aggressive coercion that serves to reinforce and worsen such behaviours. These difficulties are often likely to continue, and to lead to academic and social difficulties over time (Ladd & Coleman, 1997). In fact, the likelihood of later behavioural problems and social maladjustment increases when social deficits result in a failure on the part of young children to develop these appropriate early peer relationships. CHILDREN’S SENSE OF SELF, FRIENDSHIP, PEER ACCEPTANC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT The research literature seems to indicate that there is a relationship between a child’s self-perceptions and his or her level of peer acceptance. In addition, there seems to be support in the literature that indicates there is a relationship between self-perceptions and the presence of friends in a child’s life. Keefe and Berndt (1996) investigated the relationship between friendship quality and self-esteem. They found that "the quality and stability of adolescents friendships not only are related to their self-esteem, but also affect the changes over time in specific domains of self-esteem" (p. 123). Furthermore, they found that children “whose friendships involved more positive features also had higher scores on the social acceptance and global self-worth scales. Further, the positive features of friendships were associated most strongly with self-perceptions of acceptance by peers” (p. 123). The results of this study “indicated that having supportive friendships related to higher self-esteem in the social...domain” (p. 123). Since the introduction of Sullivan’s theory on social development, a number of other researchers have written about the importance of peer relationships in development. For example, Hartup (1983) asserts that “peer relations contribute uniquely to the growth of the individual, to the capacity to relate to others, to the development of social controls, and to the acquisition of social values" (p. 103). Peer acceptance was defined as “the experience of being liked or accepted by the members of one’s peer group” (Bukowski & Hoza, 1989, p. 19). Simultaneously, friendship is “the experience of having a close, mutual, dyadic relation” (Bukowski & Hoza, 1989, p. 19). The perception of self or general feelings about the way one is appears to influence many aspects of individual’s life. If a child develops low self-worth, not only will it influence his or her functioning in areas such as social competence, academic competence, or athletic competence while young (Harter, 1985), but it may also carry over into later life and lead to adult difficulties. Such difficulties might include loneliness or social anxiety, and a variety of emotional and mental health disturbances, including depression and suicidal ideation. PRIMARY SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Studies over the past 20 years have utilised a variety of approaches to attempt to influence social development in children by facilitating skill development, remediating problem behaviours, and improving the quality of caregiver-child relationships. Many techniques enhancing social development exist, but those often used with older children (such as social problem-solving and social information processing approaches) may lie developmentally beyond the cognitive and social understanding of children of primary school age. For this reason, a variety of more developmentally appropriate methods have instead been developed to teach social skills and increase socially competent behaviour in younger children. Programs with younger children are often based in the teaching of specific social skills, rather than other approaches requiring more sophisticated social awareness. For primary school children, the ongoing support and encouragement of teachers and peers are often a focus. Numerous studies have supported the use of a variety of social development interventions in the primary school setting, and authors have previously attempted to categorise the types of interventions represented in these published studies (Brown et al., 2001). Several types of interventions can be identified: (1) teacher-mediated approaches in which social behaviours are incorporated and/or instructed directly (Odom et al, 2008); (2) peer-mediated interventions, through which young children have been observed to learn a substantial number of social behaviours by interacting with competent peers; (3) caregiver-mediated approaches, in which various approaches to training caregivers in eliciting and maintaining social interaction and play with children are utilised (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2008); (4) combined approaches, which involve multiple mediators and/or program components. Regardless of the adult mediator, these interventions tend to align with one or more of the following delivery methods: (1) systematic arrangement of the classroom environment, sometimes referred to as environmental arrangements (Odom et al., 1999) or structured play, as a means of more effectively facilitating social interaction; (2) behavioural strategies using cues, prompts, and positive reinforcement to increase interactive social and play behaviours. This also includes correspondence training, in which pupils are positively reinforced for following through on stated plans for social play that include choosing target children as playmates; (3) instructional approaches including any intervention involving the direct instruction of children in specific skills such as sharing, helping others, and initiating social interaction (such as Odon & McConnell, 1993); (4) combined approaches, which involve the merging of multiple interventions, such as behavioural and environmental approaches. While the approaches summarised above represent a variety of intervention types, consistent and agreed-upon guidelines for exactly how these interventions should be delivered still do not exist. Steiner school utilises specific model for delivering social development interventions to pupils in an effort to place these diverse strategies in the context of a more structured system. Steiner school approach emphasises universal, individualised, and intensive interventions in a sequence much like that of positive behaviour support and tiered interventions for older students. From the critical perspective, unlike mainstream primary schools focusing mostly on instructional approaches to deliver social development interventions, Steiner school employs broad teacher-mediated approaches, various environmental arrangements, behavioural and peer-mediated strategies, and combined approaches. Combined approaches often integrate parent-mediated and classroom-based interventions (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2008). Some studies have indicated that despite practical barriers to parent involvement (such as child care and transportation), combined approaches are as effective with primary school aged children as they are with older students. TEACHER-MEDIATED AND BEHAVIOURAL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES Currently, best practice in universal prevention of social and behavioural problems in primary school pupils includes direct instruction of schoolwide expectations, with an emphasis on positive social skills (Mathur et al, 1998). Teacher-mediated social development approaches have been used to address not only social development but language and communication skills as well. The teacher mediation involved in these approaches ranges from direct instruction to minimal pupil-centered facilitation during play. For example, in direct approaches the teacher might teach play invitation skills, then prompt children to invite others into their play and reinforce them for doing so. In more naturalistic approaches, the teacher might model the desired behaviour at an opportune moment during center time, or make the suggestion during child-directed play. Teacher-mediated approaches do not necessarily involve extensive direct instruction. Although less intensive strategies (such as incidental teaching) do not have as much empirical support, they have been used to improve peer-related social development. Group affection or friendship activities have been shown to increase the frequency and duration of peer interaction in primary school, particularly for socially isolated children (Odon & McConnell, 1993). T hese interventions usually involve the incorporation of social activities into stories, circle time activities, and songs. The use of behavioural approaches during incidental teaching has yielded positive results. In some cases, teachers are trained to prompt and support specific social behaviours (such as verbal play initiations or behaviours that increase the likelihood of conflict resolution). Behavioural social skills interventions have also been extensively used and studied in relation to children with autism spectrum disorder. In these cases, strict reinforcement schedules, as well as imitation and extensive direct instruction by adults, are often used. The specialised nature of the approaches used with primary school population require systematic integration into all facets of the educational program, and that they are continued indefinitely and adapted as children grow. REFERENCES Berndt, T. J., & Burgy, L. (1996). Social self-concept. In B. A. Bracken (Ed.), Handbook of self-concept: Developmental, social and clinical considerations (pp. 170-210). New York: Wiley. Brown, W.H., Odom, S.L., & Conroy, M.A. (2001). An intervention hierarchy for promoting young children’s peer interactions in natural environments. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 21(3), 162-175. Bukowski, W. M., & Hoza,B. (1989). Popularity and friendship: Issues in theory, measurement and outcome. In I. B. Weiner (Series Ed.) & T. J. Berndt & G. W. 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