by Megan Adams

This semester I chose to focus on the part of development relating to social competence. To gain a better understanding of how children in BC are doing in terms of social development the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) collects information about children with the help of teachers by using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The EDI is a questionnaire that is completed by the teachers of kindergarten students to gain information about their skills and development in the areas of physical health and well-being, language and cognitive development, emotional maturity, social competence and communication skills and general knowledge (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). I specifically focused on social competence which is one of the scales looked at by the EDI. The social competence scale also contains subscales which include overall social competence, approaches to learning, readiness to explore new things and respect and responsibility. A child can be classified as vulnerable in any of these scales or subscales by the EDI if the fall below a certain score (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). The EDI is also looked at by individual neighbourhoods to see which neighbourhoods throughout the province contain more vulnerable children. By doing this we can see which neighbourhoods need more supports put in place. Throughout the semester I focused on one neighbourhood and determined what factors can cause a child to be vulnerable, what a vulnerable child might look light, and what programs can be put in place to help children’s health in terms of social competence.

EDI Data, Cairsmore – Duncan Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood of Carismore – Duncan on Vancouver Island has more lone-parent families and lower median family incomes for both lone-parent and two-parent families when compared to the entire province. In families of lower socioeconomic status coercive discipline is more common as well as less stimulation and activities for the children (Berk, 2021). Lone-parent families typically only have one source of income which means they are more likely to be of lower socioeconomic status. Children from high socioeconomic families can do better in school because of supports that are not in place in low socioeconomic families (Berk, 2021). This information is important to help understand the trends shown in the EDI.  In the community profile report it showed that 16.1% of children are vulnerable in the area of social competence, compared to 27% of children in the Cairsmore – Duncan neighbourhood (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2020). It is also shown that for all the social competence subscales a meaningful increase in vulnerability is happening in the long-term (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2020). In the short-term no meaningful change in vulnerability is shown for overall social competence, approaches to learning, and respect & responsibility (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2020). Whereas a meaningful increase in vulnerability is shown in the short-term for exploring new things (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2020).                                      

Risk & Resilience

Children can be exposed to both risk factors which can negatively affect their development, and resilience factors which can help children overcome a bad situation or experience. Risk factors can be both environmental and genetic. Some risk factors include genetic mutations, low socioeconomic status, abuse, and neglect. These factors all can negatively affect social competence. One major resilience factor that can help children is skilful parenting. The best parenting approach is one in which the child knows what to expect, so it is consistent, as well as supportive and connected (Karam & Degnan, 2021). This type of parenting is especially important for social competence because it leads to confidence as well as better engagement with others.

What Does a Vulnerable Child Look Like?

A vulnerable child may have difficulty developing the skills that will help them in school. When looking at social competence we can determine behaviours that would occur in a vulnerable child at each subscale. For overall social competence, a vulnerable child would not get along with other, they may struggle to make friends or engage with other children (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). For approaches to learning, a vulnerable child would be unwilling or unable to follow directions (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). For readiness to explore new things, a vulnerable child would be uninteresting in the new toys, books or games being introduced to them in the classroom (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). For respect and responsibility, a vulnerable child would not respect other people of their property which could result in attempting to take things from other children (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). Without help these vulnerable children would continue to develop these maladaptive skills instead of ones that would contribute to their success. This might cause them to be isolated from their peers and struggle academically.

Recommendation to Promote Child Health

My recommendation to promote child health in terms of social competence relates to a study done by Çetin (2021) in which a modular art program was implemented for 7 weeks. The program included a range of art-based activities some of which were process based and others technique-based (Çetin, 2021). This program specifically targeted the skill of sharing which is connected to social competence and the subscale of overall social competence. Sharing is an important skill that children use to connect with other children and become friends. Overall social competence is the subscale that includes both getting along with other children as well as cooperation, both of which can be positively impacted by sharing. The results of the study by Çetin (2021) showed improvement in social abilities of the children participating. A program like this could be implemented within a school or community setting and act as a protective factor for vulnerable children. Programs like this can provide important supports outside of the immediate family as well as foster social skills. With a modular art program in place that focuses on social skills, children who would otherwise continue to struggle may find the supports they need to see positive changes in themselves.


References

Berk, Laura E. (2021). Infants and Children: Prenatal through Middle Childhood (9th ed.), Pearson

Çetin, Z. (2021). The Effect of a Modular Art Education Programme on the Personal-Social Development of Preschool Children. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 11(1).

Human Early Learning Partnership. (November 2019). EDI BC. Early Development Instrument British Columbia, 2016-2019 Wave 7 provincial report. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, School of Population and Public Health

Human Early Learning Partnership. (February 2020). Early Development Instrument [EDI] report. Wave 7 Community Profile, 2019. Cowichan Valley School District (SD79). Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, School of Population and Public Health

Human Early Learning Partnership. (January 2021). EDI (Early Years Development Instrument) W7 EDI Subscales Community Profile, 2020. Cowichan Valley (SD79). Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia, School of Population and Public Health

Karam, M., & Degnan, K. A. (2021). Parenting and the Development of Social Competence in Early Childhood. International Social Science Review, 97(4), 1–19.