Howard High School Student Services Department

-SOCIAL SKILLS: PROMOTING POSITIVE BEHAVIOR, ACADEMIC SUCCESS & SCHOOL SAFETY

Good social skills are critical to successful functioning in life. These 
skills enable us to know what to say, how to make good choices, and how to 
behave in diverse situations. The extent to which children and adolescents 
possess good social skills can influence their academic performance, 
behavior, social and family relationships, and involvement in 
extracurricular activities. Social skills are also linked to the quality of 
the school environment and school safety. 
(http://www.naspcenter.org/factsheets/socialskills_fs.html

-POSSIBLE RESULTS OF GOOD SOCIAL SKILLS- 
 
With a full range of social skills, students will have the ability to make 
social choices that will strengthen their interpersonal relationships and 
facilitate success in school. Some results of good social skills include:

-Positive and safe school environment. 
-Child resiliency in the face of future crises or other stressful life 
events. 
-Students who seek appropriate and safe avenues for aggression and 
frustration. 
-Children who take personal responsibility for promoting school safety. 

-POSSIBLE RESULTS OF POOR SOCIAL SKILLS- 

Students with poor social skills have been shown to:

-Experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships with parents, 
teachers, and peers. 
-Evoke highly negative responses from others that lead to high levels of 
peer rejection.  Peer rejection has been linked on several occasions with 
school violence. 
-Show signs of depression, aggression and anxiety. 
-Demonstrate poor academic performance as an indirect consequence. 
-Show a higher incidence of involvement in the criminal justice system as 
adults

-IMPACE ON SCHOOL SAFETY- 
Given the demonstrated relationship between social skills and school safety, 
schools are increasingly seeking ways to help students develop positive 
social skills, both in school and in the community. Social skills related to 
school safety include:

-Anger management 
-Recognizing/understanding others' point of view 
-Social problem solving 
-Peer negotiation 
-Conflict management 
-Peer resistance skills 
-Active listening 
-Effective communication 
-Increased acceptance and tolerance of diverse groups 
(http://www.naspcenter.org/factsheets/socialskills_fs.html)
Social Skills
