STORY TELLING TO ENHANCE SOCIAL
STORY TELLING TO ENHANCE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE IN CHILDREN: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
INTRODUCTION
Emotions are an integral part of human nature. Through emotions we respond to life in many different ways- with anger, happiness, love, fear, and jealousy. Emotions influence our thoughts and actions and consequently play a crucial role in inspiring our needs and motivations. The very construct of social-emotional well being in children has a subtle connotation to positive adaptation in face of challenges and adverse circumstances.
The array of researches in the field agrees on certain crucial aspects of the child’s social milieu which are the contributing factors to the development of a sense of well being. There is consonance among researchers with regards to the positive contributing factors. A safe and secure home environment with consistent parenting and an opportunity to express feelings without the accompanying feeling of guilt or fear are the building blocks for emotional and social well being in children. Enhancing resilience and positive coping can be of significance for promoting social and emotional maturity. Studies have proved beyond doubt that children’s emotional, social and behavioral adjustments are as important for school success as cognitive and academic preparedness (River and Ziegler 2000). Children who have difficulty in paying attention, following teacher’s directions, getting along with others and controlling negative emotions do less well in school( Coleman 1997) and are rejected by classmates and receive a negative feedback from the teachers. The researches on the protective factors do focus on the “dynamic” (Luthar 2000) process of resilience or adaptability in face of challenges.I would like to emphasize that children or individuals who have the ability to change or mould the environment as per their needs for adjustment seem to be the most resilient and well adjusted in their social setting
. Any scientific enquiry needs to
INTRODUCTION
Emotions are an integral part of human nature. Through emotions we respond to life in many different ways- with anger, happiness, love, fear, and jealousy. Emotions influence our thoughts and actions and consequently play a crucial role in inspiring our needs and motivations. The very construct of social-emotional well being in children has a subtle connotation to positive adaptation in face of challenges and adverse circumstances.
The array of researches in the field agrees on certain crucial aspects of the child’s social milieu which are the contributing factors to the development of a sense of well being. There is consonance among researchers with regards to the positive contributing factors. A safe and secure home environment with consistent parenting and an opportunity to express feelings without the accompanying feeling of guilt or fear are the building blocks for emotional and social well being in children. Enhancing resilience and positive coping can be of significance for promoting social and emotional maturity. Studies have proved beyond doubt that children’s emotional, social and behavioral adjustments are as important for school success as cognitive and academic preparedness (River and Ziegler 2000). Children who have difficulty in paying attention, following teacher’s directions, getting along with others and controlling negative emotions do less well in school( Coleman 1997) and are rejected by classmates and receive a negative feedback from the teachers. The researches on the protective factors do focus on the “dynamic” (Luthar 2000) process of resilience or adaptability in face of challenges.I would like to emphasize that children or individuals who have the ability to change or mould the environment as per their needs for adjustment seem to be the most resilient and well adjusted in their social setting
. Any scientific enquiry needs to
Bibliography: [1] Bredekamp,S. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice(2nd edition) Washington, D.C:NAEYC [2] Coles,R [3] Coles,R. (1997) The moral intelligence of children. New york: Random house [4] Deutch, F & Madle,R.A [5] Eisenberg, N. & Strayer, J. (1990) critical issues in the study of empathy. In N. Eisenberg & J. Strayer (eds), empathy and its development (pp 3-16)Cambridge: Cambridge University press. [6] Goleman, D.(1995) Emotional intelligence.New York:Bantam [7] Goleman, D.(2007) Social Intelligence: The new science of human relationships, New York, Bantam [8] Hoffman, M.L. (1984) Interaction of affect and cognition in empathy. In C. Izard, J. Kagan & R. Zasone (eds), Emotions, cognition and behavior (pp 103-131) New York: Cambridge university press. [9] luthar S. ,Cicchetti,D. & Becker,B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. In Child Development 71(3) (pp543-62) [9] Slaby,R., Roedell,W. Arezzo,D & Hendrix,K.(1995) Early violence prevention.Washington,D.C:NAEYC [10] Thompson,R.(1990) [13] Ram, U. (20020 emotional literacy for the child in the new millennium. In V. Veeraraghavan, S, Singh,K.A. Khandelwal (eds) The child in the new millennium (pp142-45) published by Reuben Israel for Mosaic books, New Delhi, India [14] Sapra, R