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Values, Social and Emotional Competencies, Learning Dispositions
Values, Social and Emotional Competencies, Learning Dispositions
Values, social and emotional competencies and learning dispositions (VSLD)
As an early childhood educator, you play a crucial role in nurturing young children's values, social and emotional competencies, and learning dispositions (VSLD). These are fundamental building blocks that help children connect with others, learn from one another, and contribute to their families and communities.
What are the benefits?
Nurturing VSLD can have a profound impact on children's development. By focusing on these areas, you can help children:
Develop their moral compass
- Recognise the difference between right and wrong in various settings
- Guide their thoughts, speech, and behavior at school, home, and in the community
Connect better with others across various settings
- Understand themselves and build a positive self-image in relation to peers, family, and the community
- Enhance performance, motivation, attitude, and participation in class activities
Enjoy learning
Become self-directed learners who find joy in the process of learning
By focusing on these aspects, we can create a supportive environment that nurtures well-rounded and confident individuals.
Values, Social and Emotional Competencies and Learning Dispositions
Values
Respect |
Recognise the intrinsic worth of all people, appreciating and accepting them for who they are, regardless of where they come from and what they are capable of doing |
Responsibility |
Be dependable, keep promises and accept the consequences for what they say and do |
Care |
Look out for others, understand their needs and show empathy |
Honesty |
Know that being truthful is the right thing to do |
Social and Emotional Competencies
COMPETENCY 1: DEVELOP SELF-AWARENESS
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1.1 Identify and talk about aspects of personal identity (e.g., name, age, sex, abilities, likes and dislikes) 1.2 Develop a positive self-concept (i.e., feel good about their own competence and characteristics) 1.3 Recognise that they are part of a socio-cultural group (e.g., their family, preschool centre, community, ethnic group, country) as they develop a sense of self-identity |
COMPETENCY 2: DEVELOP SELF-MANAGEMENT AND REGULATION
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2.1. Identify emotions in themselves and others
2.2 Express and respond to own feelings and emotions appropriately |
COMPETENCY 3: DEVELOP SOCIAL AWARENESS AND SHOW RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
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3.1 Develop an awareness that everyone is unique in terms of their backgrounds, abilities, needs and/or opinions
3.2 Develop an awareness of the importance of showing respect towards people they interact with and who are from diverse backgrounds and with different abilities, needs and/or opinions 3.3 Respond to what others are going through and how they are feeling through appropriate actions and/or words 3.4 Recognise the need for rules and routines for people to live, play and work together harmoniously |
COMPETENCY 4: BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS AND SIGNIFICANT ADULTS
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4.1 Develop an awareness of the need to show appreciation and care for others
4.2 Develop an awareness of and use appropriate strategies to establish and maintain friendships and positive relationships with others 4.3 Develop an awareness of and use appropriate strategies to manage disagreement |
COMPETENCY 5: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS
| Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions (KSD): Provide opportunities for children to… |
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5.1 Learn to make choices on their own or with support
5.2 Learn to take ownership and be responsible for their actions |
Learning Dispositions
PERSEVERANCE |
Keep working at a task to complete it |
REFLECTIVENESS |
Think about what they have done, seen, heard or felt in their experiences to generate alternative ideas and gain new knowledge |
APPRECIATION |
Work as a team and learn from all as they recognise that everyone has ideas to contribute |
INVENTIVENESS |
Be flexible in their thinking and generate different solutions to solve a problem |
SENSE OF WONDER AND CURIOSITY |
Express their wonderment and get excited about learning |
ENGAGEMENT |
Stay focused and be deeply interested and actively involved in learning |
How can you do it?
Adopting a whole-centre approach
A whole-centre approach extends the learning of VSLD beyond the child’s classroom and ensures that children learn in a positive and supportive environment that is anchored on positive relationships. Here’s how you can achieve this:
- Establish a Positive Culture
- Show consistent warmth and affection
- Offer effective praise through specific, detailed and positive comments
- Build Strong Relationships
- Foster strong connections among children
- Encourage positive relationships between children and adults
- Cultivate collaborative relationships among adults
- Role-Model Positive Behaviour
- Explicitly demonstrate positive behavior and language
- Share thoughts and actions to set a positive example
- Collaborate with Families and the Community
- Encourage open and respective communications
- Focus on common goals related to the child’s development and well-being
- Provide relevant resources and information with family members
- Involve parents in the learning process through classroom activities, parent-teacher conferences and school events
Teaching explicitly
Explicit teaching involves the systematic planning and use of curriculum time for children to learn and internalise VSLD, while providing opportunities for their application. Here’s how you can explicitly teach VSLD:
- Raising Awareness and Understanding
- Introduce each VSLD by name with child-friendly definitions
- Use stories, images, or videos to explain their meanings
- Seize teachable moments to reinforce these concepts after relevant incidents
- Engaging Children to Recognise VSLD in Action
- Help children recognise instances of VSLD in various situations
- Reinforce the understanding of these concepts through stories about fictional characters, real-life personalities, and people in the children's lives
- Encouraging Children’s Appreciation of VSLD
- Explain the importance of VSLD to encourage children's appreciation of these aspects
- Providing Opportunities for Application
- Create a variety of situations for children to adopt and exhibit VSLD in their words and actions
When engaging in explicit teaching, you can use the following strategies to create engaging and effective learning experiences for children:
- Eliciting Responses to Stimuli: Encourage children to respond to carefully chosen stimuli such as artwork, stories, songs, and newspaper articles which bring out the VSLD.
- Exploring Issues through dramatisation and role play: Engage children in exploring various issues, attitudes, and behaviours through dramatisation and role play. This allows them to understand and empathize with different perspectives.
- Collaborative Learning: Use collaborative learning strategies to create real-life contexts for children to learn and play together. This fosters teamwork and social skills.
- Learning Through Games: Use games to provide children with hands-on experiences related to values, social and emotional competencies, and learning dispositions. This makes learning enjoyable and practical.
Organising the learning environment
- Physical environment
You can intentionally create a physical learning environment which reinforces children’s understanding of VSLD.
- Interactional Environment
In addition to providing opportunities for children to interact in pairs or small groups throughout the day, you can incorporate the following strategies to promote positive interactions and Values, Social and Emotional Learning (VSLD): - Thinking Routines: Use thinking routines to guide classroom interactions, encourage thoughtful discussions and promote collaborative problem-solving among children.
- Involving Children in Rule-Making: Engage children in suggesting class rules to promote positive interactions. This involvement empowers them to take ownership of their classroom environment and encourages responsible behavior.
- Temporal Environment
You can create opportunities for children to apply VSLD by tapping possibilities that routines and transitions naturally offer, such as: - Arrival time: Encourage children to greet each other and check in on their feelings for the day, fostering empathy and emotional awareness.
- Snack time: Promote a sense of community by having children hand out snacks to others and wait for everyone before eating
- Learning centre time: Emphasise responsibility by having packing and returning their materials neatly
- Toileting: Encourage respect and patience by having children wait for their turn and respect others’ privacy
- Dismissal: Promote reflectiveness by getting children to recount and learn from their day’s experiences
Seizing teachable moments throughout the day
It is crucial to be observant and responsive when teachable moments arise and address them in a timely and appropriate manner. Your responses to these authentic moments establish a consistent understanding of VSLD. Responses may vary depending on the situation, such as:
- Affirming the child who has positively demonstrated the VSLD
- Involving the children to pre-emptively consider how to approach a situation.
- Guiding the children to practise the skills that they have previously learnt through appropriate contexts that arise.
- Working with the children to resolve an issue or conflict.
- Coaching the children through difficult situations.
Monitoring and assessing children’s learning and development
When observing and assessing children's development of VSLD across various contexts, it's
important to keep the following considerations in mind:
Nurturing VSLD takes time
Nurturing these aspects requires time, and their development may not be immediately evident in children's behavior. Monitoring and assessing should be seen as a lifelong journey that begins in the early years.
Maintain a balanced view
Assessments should focus on the overall pattern of behaviors over time, rather than isolated instances of achievement or challenges. Observation and analysis should maintain a balanced view of children.
Some support may be needed at first
Children will strengthen their social skills, confidence, and independence by being entrusted to solve their social difficulties, initially with some support and increasingly without adult assistance.
Adopt a holistic approach
You should adopt a holistic approach to observing children's learning and development, considering factors from their home environment and experiences outside of school. Understanding these influences is crucial in supporting subsequent learning and development.
Consider children’s background
Children's behavior is influenced by their background, including culture, language, and family circumstances. You should consider these factors when observing and assessing social behavior and help children learn from and enjoy the company of their peers.
