Implementing a social/emotional skills program in schools would provide many benefits to students. It would help students develop important social and emotional skills to prevent future problems, build competence, and guide them to become well-balanced individuals. Regular lessons on social skills taught by teachers could be easily incorporated into the normal school day. Role playing activities allow students to practice appropriate behaviors and responses to different situations. Meeting regularly to choose skills and coordinate lessons ensures all students receive consistent instruction. While some students may need extra support, overall a social/emotional program can help students, improve behavior, and assist teachers.

1. Running head: BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
SKILLS PROGRAM
Benefits in implementing a Social/Emotional Skills Program
Jose Antonio Rios Jr.
American College of Education
August 2015
C15513- Developing Students Self Management Skills

2. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
SKILLS PROGRAM 1
Benefits in Implementing a Social/Emotional Skills Program
What is our school doing to produce intelligent, productive and well respected
individuals? If one takes a tour of most of the schools in their district they will noticed that
much time is being spent on the academic side. Course books are stacked up in the corner,
workbooks are waiting to be opened, and teacher drills are aching to be unleashed. What’s
missing from this picture? It is understood that the board of education puts a lot of emphases on
“Standards” and teachers are doing all they can to meet those standards. In my opinion that is
why most schools are failing. The human factor is out of the academic equation.
One example is that in most city schools behavioral problems are common place. This
causes teachers to interrupt their lessons to restore order. Lost of time and energy is given and
not much productivity is accomplished. Another example is that most students that attend public
schools are within the poverty line. They need inspiration and reassurance that they have a
chance to accomplish great things in life. How can meeting the “Standards” help these students?
The mistake of so called policy makers is that they stress too much on the academic side and
neglect the human factor. Students need guidance in becoming emotional and socially balanced
individuals. How can we make this happen?
The induction of a social skills program would greatly benefit all students and give
teachers another way to interact with them. This can help students prevent any future social-
emotional skill defects while improving the other skills they posses. The acquisition of a
program as stated by Ocak (2011) “requires a considerable investment of time, effort, resources,
and money to successfully sustain …” (p.1399). Masten & Coatsworth (as cited in Domitrovich ,
Cortes & Greenberg, 2007) stated, “In order to prevent mental health problems in early
childhood, interventions need to focus not only on reducing children’s aggressive, disruptive,

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and withdrawn behavior, but also on building their social-emotional competence” (p.69)
The best way to implement such a program is not by having a weekly or monthly
assembly with a psychologist or other medical professional but having their home room (primary)
teacher introduce them a day at a time. These social skills should be embedded in the students
and practiced as often as possible. A psychologist can be helpful is assessing the students
understanding of the social skills at least once a month and can recommend strategies in further
implementing said skills. Teachers will spend most of the day with their students and can
understand their needs. With a person that knows them and cares about their future, teachers will
do all they can to instill positive social and emotional skills upon them.
There are many ways to instruct students on how to remember the proper “scripts” to
handle a certain situation. One of the best ways to target their overall perceptions/sensations
would be a role play (Knoff 2015). The teacher will conduct said activity by first taking on the
role of the “victim” and asking a student to be the “aggressor”. The teacher must keep in mind
not to over play the part and act like him or herself. During the interactions the teacher will
“freeze” a moment and explain what options are available. After the “script” has been completed
it is important to go over them and explain why these are the best choices to solve the problem.
It is also important to remember to only demonstrate proper solutions. If a wrong solution is
presented, the students will likely remember them more then the correct action (Knoff 2015).
To achieve best results, it is recommended that the role play be preformed in a “common
area” environment. For example, if teasing happened in the cafeteria then it should be performed
there, if fighting occurred in the playground then it should be enacted there. The sensations of
the area and the correct implementation of the skill script will help students trigger their

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memories. Once the skill set has been reviewed by all, the students will have a greater
possibility in choosing the correct action for a problem.
There are more then twenty social skills (common/advanced) that would benefit every
student (Knoff 2015). To make sure our students across the same grade levels are receiving the
same social skill instruction there must be a meeting. These can occur once every month or every
week if time allows. The selection and practice of a new social skill must be determined and
scripts must be agreed upon. This time can also be used to assess the pervious month’s
behavioral skills lessons. Lane, Wehby, and Coolery (2006) stated, “It is imperative that every
effort be made to proactively manage student behavior with the goal of promoting effective,
efficient instruction” (p.155).
Time is a very valuable commodity in a child’s education. To implement a social skills /
behavioral program one must segregate the academic time in order to introduce or review a skill
set. The recommend time is about ten minutes for every teaching hour. Most likely this will
occur either towards the beginning of class or the end. This short time is enough to chorus the
skill set and have one or two pairs demonstrate it through role play. More time would be
beneficial but we do have to remember that the main purpose of school is its academics. If
further intervention is needed parents can be involved or time must be siphoned from extra
curricular activities.
With each new class for the semester it is beneficial to spend more time on the classroom
and schools building routines. The first week or two about half of the instructional time should
be given to go over these important rules. This not only promotes better classroom management
but also students will be familiar of what is expected of them. The behavioral matrix can be
introduced and positive reinforcements such as stickers, extra play time, and prizes can be

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demonstrated (Knoff 2015). The classroom rules should list what should be preformed not
“what not to do”. Having a positive classroom can be a great asset in their emotional
development.
When students are not in their classroom they should understand that there is also a
certain way to behave in the “common areas”. Going over all the routines during the first week
or two is necessary. Teachers are given a long chore list that may or may not be complete during
the end of the academic year. With the help of solid social skills, student management, and
behavioral system teachers can fulfill many aspects on their list. Parlakian stated (as citied in
Ashdown and Bernard, 2012) “The emergence of these social-emotional skills helps young
children feel more confident and competent in developing relationships, building friendships,
resolving conflicts, persisting when faced with challenges, coping with anger and frustrations,
and managing emotions” (p. 397).
There are times when some students may not perform to the teachers expectations in
social skills development. Hopefully it’s a small percentage so that the teacher can continue
their curriculum. With these students more professional help will be required. Counselors, social
workers, or physiologist will gather the needed information to help these individuals. There may
be many reasons why these students are having a hard time in understanding these rules or skill
sets. Most likely they were never conditioned to follow rules and can’t grasp the concept that
there are positive and negative ways to interact with others or in places. Many professionals
might label these students with a medical term such as ADD (attention deficit disorder), but I
believe there is no such thing.
If a teacher is truly a “teacher”, he or she can overcome any barrier and with time, care,
and imagination they can find a way to instruct the student in any curriculum.

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References
Ashdown, D. & Bernard, M. (2012). Can Explicit Instruction in Social and Emotional Learning
Skills Benefit the Social-Emotional Development, Well-being, and Academic Achievement
of Young Children?. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(6 ), 397-405.
Domitrovich, C. E., Cortes, R., & Greenberg, M. T. (2007). Improving young children’s social
and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool “PATHS” curriculum.
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 28(2), 1-25.
Knoff, H. (Course Lecturer). (2015). Module 3: Primary Social Skills and how to Teach Them.
Part 2: How to Teach a Stop & Think Social Skills Lesson.
American College of Education. Retrieved from http://www.ace.edu
Lane, K. L., Wehby, J. H., & Cooley, C. (2006). Teacher expectations of students’ classroom
behavior across the grade span: Which social skills are necessary for success? Council for
Exceptional Children, 72(2), 153-167
Ocak, S. (2011). Discussed Issues in Preventive Intervention Programs. Educational Sciences:
Theory and Practice, 11(3), 1396-1402