Social and Personal Competencies
Social and personal competencies (SPCs) are a set of skills that empower children and adults to be successful in life. SPCs can be viewed as a process of weaving skills together to form a rope, in which the strands represent new social and personal skills woven tightly with academic skills to make students stronger. As students learn new social, personal, and academic skills, their brains weave these strands together and use them to solve problems, work with others, formulate and express ideas, and learn from mistakes. The goals of SPCs are to foster the development of five interrelated sets of competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
Students should be able to communicate, solve problems, think critically, be resilient, persevere, and work in teams.
SPCs help students build the skills they need to confidently explore career opportunities and make positive contributions to their communities. These skills also support better learning and personal growth, leading to better social interactions, fewer behavior problems, and higher grades and test scores.
The department has released the Social and Personal Competencies Resource Guide as a tool for educators to support students' development in these competencies.
Incorporating Social and Personal Competencies Into Classroom Instruction and Educator Effectiveness
Introduction to Social and Personal Competency and Learning Modules