Understanding Socio-Emotional Competence Through the Lens of Special Education & Educators: A Review

Abstract

In a school setting, when a child has been under the protection, guidance, and supervision of their primary attachment figure at home, a novel setting with unfamiliar faces, rules, and regulations can be very daunting. The role that classroom settings play in shaping the child’s adjustment in the future developmental trajectory, as well as the importance and need to understand it, is of priority. Teachers are important contributors in classroom scenarios, and they are deemed to be the immediate caregivers for children in the classroom. Therefore, it becomes crucial to know the contributions they primarily play in guiding a child academically, emotionally, socially and mentally. The paper aims to describe that the needs and the way in which a special child would characterise their belongingness are very different from other children. In this regard, if teachers who are supposed to cater to their personalised needs are bound to use punitive measures, then the ability of the special child to understand and interpret it is very different and can be a tainting element in their life. With papers focusing on the importance of teachers’ training programs, especially with regard to socio-emotional competence, this paper aims to highlight the same in the context of special schools by providing instances from the made observations and associating them in a narrative way, improvising on the future recommendations and its implications.