Supporting Social Competency
at School: Middle School
PRESENTATION CREATED BY:
CATHERINE TELLER, M.A. & DANIELLE HARRINGTON, M.A.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
PRESENTED BY: [NAME]
Presentation Overview
 Introduction
 Social Competency in Middle School
 Signs of Social Problems
 What Can I Do to Help?
 When to Seek Outside Help
Proposed Outcomes
The goal of this training is to help you to:

Have a clear understanding of what social competency is.

Be able to recognize students lacking social competency who
may need your support & guidance.

Learn strategies to support students who are struggling
socially.

Better understand when students may need more intensive
help beyond what you can provide.
Feel empowered to support student social
competency at school!
Introduction
Educating the “Whole Child”
A growing approach to
education recognizing that…
 Academic preparation is one of
many important pieces to
preparing students to become
successful, independent
members of society
 Addressing social, emotional,
behavioral & environmental
needs can lead to long-lasting,
positive outcomes
Powerful Implications
Presence of social-emotional support has been
shown to boost:

Enjoyment of daily activities in the classroom

Commitment to school and learning

Self-esteem

Protection against mental illness

Recovery from setbacks (resiliency)
Powerful Implications
Absence of social-emotional support puts students at
greater risk for:
Learning problems
 Feeling disconnected from school
 Disruptive behavior
 Peer rejection
 Development of mental illness
 Long-term negative outcomes (e.g., dropping out of high
school, criminal activity, social or mental health problems
in adulthood)

With this in mind…
How can we make a difference?
Targeting Intervention Efforts
Research indicates that there is a strong relationship
between the presence of social competency and:
 Positive peer group adjustment
 Social-emotional well-being
(Smith & Hart, 2005)
What is Social Competency?
What is Social Competency?
Social Competency involves:
1) Possessing and appropriately using social skills
2) Learning from past experience and applying that
learning to the ever-changing social landscape
Essentially: Combining social skills and past
knowledge to build and maintain
interpersonal relationships
What is Social Competency?
The acronym C.A.R.E.S. identifies five major clusters
of social skills that socially competent people have:
• Cooperation
• Assertion
• Responsibility
• Empathy
• Self-control
(Gresham & Elliot, 1990)
Typical Social Development:
What should we be seeing?
Typical Social Development in Middle School
In 6th-8th grade, typically developing adolescents:
 Desire increased autonomy and privacy from parents
 Desire peer acceptance
 Are less influenced by parents as the influence of peers
increases
 Begin to make their own decisions and follow through
 Begin to develop their own sense of right and wrong
Typical Social Development in Middle School
Challenges at this stage of development:
 Major transitions (elementary to secondary, physical changes)
 Emotional regulation
 Being able to understand one’s actions from another’s
perspective
 Establishing close relationships
 Beginning to establish an identity
 Being able to seek out support from peers, parents, and
teachers
 Being able to evaluate past social experiences to decide how to
act in current situations.
Typical Social Development in Middle School
Specific social skills that should be developed at or
before this age:
 Ability cooperate and compromise
 Acknowledging and understanding the feelings and
viewpoints of others
 Understanding how one’s actions may be viewed by others
 Ability to delay gratification
 Basic problem solving skills
Typical Social Development in Middle School
Characteristics of friendships at this age:
 Extremely significant
 Formed through common interests, talents, extracurricular




activities, and/or behavioral characteristics
Characterized by loyalty, trust, intimacy, and selfdisclosure about personal problems
Become a source of mutual support
Minor disagreements are resolved, and it is assumed that
the friendship will survive
Perception of bossy or aggressive peers as “off-putting” or
intimidating
Cultural Considerations
 “Typical social development” can look different from
culture to culture.
 Cultures can vary in their:

Social norms

Expectations for behavior (i.e., A behavior desired in one
culture may be frowned upon in another)

Interpretation of others’ behavior/ social cues
 Become familiar with the cultural makeup of your school
and community, and keep this in mind when
determining whether student behaviors are “typical.”
Recognizing Adolescents Who
are Struggling Socially
Signs of Social Competency Problems
 Aggressive/hostile behavior
 Misinterpretation/overreaction to social situations
 Failure to convey empathy for others
 Difficulty regulating behavior
 Withdrawal from peers or social situations
 Poor, undeveloped sense of humor
 Excessive shyness/embarrassed easily
 Bossy, controlling, and/or dominating
Signs of Social Competency Problems
Other signs that intervention may be needed:
 Lack of friends
 Rejection from peers
 Rejected-withdrawn
 Rejected-aggressive
 Frequent teasing by peers
 Changes in physical appearance (e.g., grooming, dress)
 Crying in class
Signs of Social Competency Problems
Social Skills Deficits:

Acquisition Deficits


Performance Deficits


The student does not have the knowledge to perform a particular
social skill. (“Can’t do”)
The student has the particular skill in his/her repertoire but rarely
performs the skill or does not have the motivation to perform it.
(“Won’t do”)
Fluency Deficits

The student has the skill in his/her repertoire but performs it
inconsistently or awkwardly.
Signs of Social Competency Problems
What else have you seen while working in schools
that tells you a student is struggling socially?
What Can I do to Help?
Tiered Approach to Intervention
 80% of students will not exhibit major behavior problems
because of previous successful learning experiences.

These children should respond to Environmental Supports (Core
Interventions)
 15% of students will be at-risk for severe behavior problems.
These students engage in problem behaviors beyond acceptable
levels and will not respond to basic school wide interventions.

These students should respond to Programmatic Supports (Targeted
Interventions)
 About 1 to 5% of students display chronic patterns of violent,
disruptive, and destructive behavior that do not respond to either
of the above approaches.

These students need Individual Support (Intensive Interventions)
Tiered Approach to Intervention
Used by permission of School Specialty Inc., (800) 225-5750, http://eps.schoolspecialty.com
Positive Effects of Intervention
In addition to boosting social competency,
intervention efforts at each level can lead to increases
in:
 Resiliency
 Positive behavior
 Positive relationships with peers and adults
 Academic achievement
 Emotional well-being
What Can I do to Help? Core Interventions
Environmental Supports (Tier I: helping 80% of students)
 Create a supportive school climate with clear, consistent
expectations
 Model respect for others, optimism, and forgiveness
 Establish genuine and caring teacher-student relationships
 Promote positive social connections
 Encourage students to believe they can succeed if they try

Frame failure as an opportunity from which to learn
 Encourage students to work together to learn, using a variety of
resources
What Can I do to Help? Core Interventions
Naturalistic Intervention
“Informal social skills intervention . . . takes
advantage of naturally occurring behavioral incidents or
events to teach prosocial behavior . . . There are literally
thousands of behavioral incidents that occur in home,
school and community settings, thereby creating rich
opportunities for using these behavioral incidents as the
basis for social skills trainings”
(Gresham, 2002)
What Can I do to Help? Core Interventions
Naturalistic strategies (Tier I: helping 80% of students)
 Encourage good sportsmanship.
 Help students set individual goals.
 Encourage assertive communication rather than passive or
aggressive communication and what that “looks like” (e.g.,
using “I statements”).
 Teach students to learn from criticism. Ask, “How could you do
that differently next time?”
 Have students evaluate their choices/actions by asking
themselves: “Is it safe?” “Is it fair?” “Is it respectful?”
 Teach children to learn from criticism. Ask, “How could you do
that differently next time?”
What Can I do to Help? Targeted Interventions
Specific Strategy promoting social skill acquisition (Tier II:
helping 10-15% of students)
The 4 R’s: a four-step process to teach and reinforce social
rules
Steps of the 4 R’s:
1. Reason: provide a reason for the rule
2. Rule: state the rule
3. Reminder: provide the student with a hint about the rule
4. Reinforce: recognize and praise
What Can I do to Help? Targeted Interventions
Programmatic supports (Tier II: helping 10-15% of
students)
 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curricula that can
be used in a whole-class setting or in smaller groups
 Peer mediation groups
 Bullying/violence prevention programs
 Counselor or Psychologist-led social skills groups that
students can be referred to
A Note on Behavior Change
Remember…
 Developing or learning a new social skill is a form of
behavior change.
 Changing behavior takes time and is a gradual
process.
With this in mind, each step towards the goal behavior
should be praised and reinforced.
In other words . . .
reward DIRECTION to guide towards PERFECTION
Vignettes & Practice
Nick
Nick is a 13-year-old, 8th grade boy. He is quiet in
class and is reluctant to participate in group projects.
You are aware of his reputation as a “loner.” At break
and lunch, you have seen him wandering around
campus alone, rarely interacting with other students.
One day you see a group of students teasing him,
saying, “Hey loser! Where are you trying to get to?”
Vignette Discussion
In your groups discuss the following:
 Based on what you have learned today…

Is this a problem warranting intervention?

Is there something you could do to help Nick?

If so, what do you think might help him?
Alyssa
Alyssa is an 11-year-old 6th grade girl who
frequently disrupts class. She has a small group of
friends who also tend to be disruptive and
disrespectful. During group instruction, she throws a
pencil across the room to get her friend’s attention.
When the pencil nearly hits another student, she
laughs and says, “Oops!” but does not apologize. You
ask her to see you after class.
 Take turns practicing the 4 R’s: Reason, Rule,
Reminder, & Reinforce
When to Seek Outside Help
Tiered Approach to Intervention
 For those 1-5% of students who do not respond to
core interventions and targeted interventions, more
individualized intervention and support is likely
needed.
Used by permission of School Specialty Inc., (800) 225-5750, http://eps.schoolspecialty.com
Seeking Outside Help
Make contact with school psychologist or counselor:
 Contact via email or other designated avenue (e.g.:
observation/consultation form)
 Ask for an observation to be made of the student
 Make appointment to meet to talk about your concerns for
the student
At-Risk Populations
Special populations at risk for significant deficits in
social competency:
 Children with diagnosable disorders:

Internalizing Disorders

Externalizing Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorders
 Children with disabilities (physical, learning, etc.)
 Children with a lack of resiliency
Externalizing Disorders
Externalizing Disorders include:
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
 Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)
 Conduct Disorder (CD)
Each of these disorders is:
 Marked by acting-out (externalizing) behaviors
 Set apart from typical development by the intensity,
duration and frequency of such behaviors
Externalizing Disorders: ADHD
Children with ADHD can experience social difficulties
due to excessive:
• Distractibility
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsivity
 These behaviors affect a child’s ability to observe,
understand, and respond to the social environment.
 Children with ADHD are often isolated and rejected
from their peers
Externalizing Disorders: CD & ODD
Children with Conduct Disorder & Oppositional
Defiance Disorder can experience social difficulties
due to:
 Excessive aggression and hostility
 The use of inappropriate social problem-solving
strategies (e.g., aggressive actions) due misreading
social situations
 Peers reject these children frequently due to their
aggression and defiant rule-breaking behavior
Internalizing Disorders
Internalizing Disorders include:
 Depression
 Anxiety
Each of these disorders is:
 Marked by patterns of less observable (internalized)
symptoms
 It is normal to experience depression & anxiety in
smaller doses, diagnosable disorders are set apart by
their intensity, duration and frequency
Internalizing Disorders: Depression
Signs of depression include:
Excessively critical attitude about self or others
 Feelings of incompetence and/or inadequacy
 Withdrawal from social situations
 Significant changes in eating or sleeping habits
 Chronic fatigue
 Refusal to accept advice, help or constructive criticism

 Many of these symptoms can directly impact a
child’s social functioning
Internalizing Disorders: Anxiety
Most Common Anxiety Disorders




Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Specific phobias (for example: school or social situations)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
 Each of the above involve severe reactions of worry and fear
caused by situations or events that are typically perceived
as harmless.
 These worries and fears can become so consuming that
these students may avoid social situations and are unable to
build or maintain friendships.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
Autism Spectrum Disorders include:
 Autism
 Asperger’s Syndrome
 Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise
Specified (PDD-NOS)
Each of these disorders is:
 Characterized by deficits in communication and social
functioning and patterns of stereotyped/ritualistic
behaviors
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
Social deficits among children with ASDs can include
difficulties with:
 Understanding social rules such as taking turns and
sharing
 Understanding and reading the emotions of others
 Taking the perspective of other people
 Initiating and maintaining interactions and conversations
with other people
A note on diagnosable disorders…
Keep in mind that Internalizing, Externalizing and
Autistic Spectrum Disorders all range in severity and
often look quite different in different children.
Understanding the severity of a individual’s disorder
may help determine what level of social support or
intervention may be most appropriate.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that most children, even those with
diagnosable disorders, who are struggling socially can
respond to core (school or classroom-wide) interventions
and targeted interventions…
Bottom Line:
These types of interventions should
always be tried first. YOU have the skills
and knowledge to use these interventions
and make a positive impact!
Questions/ Comments?
[INSERT PRESENTER NAME, TITLE AND
CONTACT INFORMATION]
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