Social Skills and Mediation in the School Curricula
| Autor | Ana Prawda - Patricia Lacovone |
| Páginas | 209-212 |
Social Skills and Mediation in the School Curricula
Ana Prawda & Patricia Lacovone, Argentina
Deep changes that affect the different spheres of economic, social, political and cultural life are a
sign of the times. Just to mention a few: the productive processes, the volume of information
handled, the organization of the economies, the ways of communicating, social dynamics, the
society and its institutions, the systems of government and the distribution of wealth, at global,
national and local level.
The present shifts in paradigms also have an impact in education, its institutions and the
objectives traced for the education of students who will be part of a world in permanent and
vertiginous mutation.
The new paradigms force us to adopt innovative actions to help students acquire the required
skills to be able to participate in a complex context, in an immediate future (Iacovone, 2003).
Consequently, education at all levels is facing challenges that need deep changes that go beyond
the formal educational systems. It is important to place education within the framework of a
society which is permanently in need to learn how to learn and to adapt throughout life.
Everyday preschoolers, primary and secondary students, trainees of different disciplines (called
tertiary training colleges in Argentina) and university students will interact with people of
different origins, sex, age, social background and educational level. When interacting, students
construct ways of thinking, feeling, acting and teaming up; as misunderstandings and mix ups
arise at work, also the search for solutions to problems.
So students need social skills to be able to listen effectively and to have empathy with others, to
transmit ideas clearly, to negotiate or to mediate agreements when conflicts take place. And more
importantly, to be able to center their actions on tolerance, solidarity, nondiscrimination and
respect for diversity.
School is the ideal scenario where to learn these social skills. Learning and training in mediation
techniques and strategies facilitate the construction of those skills and cognitive development.
Social Skills
Family, institutional and social environments influence the different actors of the school. It is
necessary to analyze the conflicts taking into account the complexity of norms, beliefs, values and
customs of the people involved, their personal, family and school history.
Furthermore, the environment has an effect on those who try to help them. Their choices of
intervention, orientation and their answers and attitudes are related to their personal history, value
judgments and their social circumstances.
The ability to respond accurately to situations similar to the ones mentioned above requires of
developing social skills. By social skills we mean flexible and adaptive behaviour, being able to
face the most varied demands in an effective way, without stereotypes or rigidity. We understand
that who possess those abilities will have the chance to adapt and interact effectively. These skills
are conceived of as the subject's behavioural repertoire and as a new step in learning, in case their
previous experiences of instruction have been inadequate (Perez and Garanto, 2001).
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