Approaches to Interpersonal Development

Factors influencing development of interpersonal skills

Students’ interpersonal skills are affected by many variables. Awareness of these will help teachers and students understand how their own interpersonal skills, and those of others, have developed.

Interpersonal skills are contextual. Their development will be influenced by the environment (where), by the relationships between those who are practising them (who), and by the specific situation (what). Students will be more likely to demonstrate effective and positive interpersonal skills in a group where they feel they belong, where they can trust their peers, and where they feel valued.

Interpersonal skills are strongly influenced by home, community and culture. Economic circumstances and social opportunities may contribute to feelings of inclusion or exclusion, connection or disconnection, belonging or alienation, self esteem or self deprecation, optimism or pessimism. They may affect a student’s motivation to develop either social or anti-social attitudes and behaviours. The behaviours and practices that are prevalent within the home and community provide the social cues and modelling for students to replicate. Cultural practices, levels of diversity and social harmony will also influence the attitudes and feelings that are brought to interpersonal relations. Cultural knowledge and understanding will assist in developing levels of mutual respect and appreciation.

Finally, interpersonal skills will be affected by other, more general, skills relating to cognition, language, temperament, aggression and withdrawal, learning ability, and the stages of child and adolescent development.

Key knowledge, skills and behaviours

Many interpersonal skills do not require specific programs for their development; they may be integrated into other domains through team work and other forms of cooperation and collaboration. When planning classroom activities, teachers can encourage students to identify interpersonal strengths and weaknesses, and to develop strategies for future improvement.

When planning teaching and learning programs across all subjects, teachers should consider including activities which give students opportunities to develop a range of knowledge skills and behaviours. These include:

Emotional skills

Students should be supported to develop:

• self awareness by recognising their own emotions, having insight into character and behaviour, and understanding how external influences affect feelings, beliefs and behaviours
• empathy by recognising the emotions of others, having a compassionate emotional response, and by acting in a supportive and kind way
• impulse control, by delaying gratification in pursuit of a goal or belief, and by intervening to manage emotions or moods
• self efficacy skills by interrupting negative thoughts and developing the habit of positive and optimistic thinking, by building a repertoire of positive coping strategies, and by developing a sense of confidence and self worth
• motivation by developing focus and concentration, by nurturing a sense of curiosity, by identifying incentives to participate and achieve, by developing behaviours that promote success, and by setting and reaching goals
• a sense of humour – including the ability to laugh at oneself – that encourages enjoyment in social relationships and creates harmony.

Values

Students should be supported to:

• make connections between values and behaviour when making decisions independently, in relationships, or as part of a group
• develop a morality that gives meaning and/or purpose to oneself and to other individuals, groups and institutions
• understand how social conventions – reflecting values – influence behaviour in different contexts.

Communication skills

Students should be encouraged to:

• develop the communication skills to conduct diverse relationships with peers, adults, and a variety of groups and organisations
• develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours to actively listen to others by observing, giving and receiving supportive cues, by asking clarifying questions, and by checking to ensure accuracy
• use knowledge, skills and behaviours to notice, explore and comprehend the different perspectives of individuals, groups, cultures and institutions.

Positive relationships

Students should be supported to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours to:

• attach, recruit and connect with others
• retain independence by disengaging and separating from others
• promote a sense of belonging with other individuals, groups and institution
• avoid, manage and/or resolve conflict
• demonstrate inclusive behaviour as a predominant strategy when forming and maintaining relationships
• manage and maintain relationships in different contexts such as school, workplace and family
• develop assertiveness skills that help manage and maintain positive relationships, and to resist negative influences and pressures by individuals, groups or institutions.

Team development

Students should be supported to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours to:

• cooperate and/or collaborate as part of a team, including family, community and school groups
• appreciate and value diversity in, for example, families, friendships, neighbours, peers
• undertake flexible roles, to assume diverse responsibilities, and to adapt in response to the needs of the group
• make judgments about when, and when not, to compromise beliefs to achieve a group outcome
• assess group dynamics
• perform a leadership role
• provide support to a leader, and to follow instructions and to comply with directions and to follow instructions and to comply with directions
• develop the enthusiasm and creative knowledge, skills and behaviours to play, shape and compose as part of a team
• develop the initiative to explore, generate and work in teams.