Identifying and Supporting Learners with Relationship Skills¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 8 studies (4 review, 2 quant-synthesis, 1 causal, 1 theoretical), q2–q4 · 2 of 8 report an effect size

Description¶

Relationship skills — one of the five CASEL social-emotional learning competencies — encompass establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, communicating clearly, listening, cooperating, negotiating conflict, and seeking or offering help. Identifying learners who struggle in this domain means using structured observation, self-report, and peer- or teacher-rating tools to locate specific skill gaps rather than labeling a learner as simply "not social." Supporting them means deliberately engineering practice opportunities, modeling, and feedback within ordinary academic activities, since social competence develops through guided, repeated interaction rather than exhortation.

Design Implications¶

Relationship skills are teachable: meta-analytic evidence shows that sequenced, active, focused SEL programming improves both social behavior and academic performance SEL programs improve social-emotional skills, attitudes, and academic achievement. [+S]. Support works best when it is embedded in authentic interaction — Collaborative Learning and structured Class Discussion give learners real stakes and real partners — rather than delivered as isolated lectures about being kind. Because skill gaps vary (a learner may initiate well but collapse under conflict, or listen well but never speak), identification must be specific enough to target the right sub-skill.

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A structured observation protocol: what to look for (initiating, turn-taking, responding to disagreement, repair attempts) and when to look (transitions, group work, unstructured time)
• Multiple data sources — teacher observation, learner self-report, and peer nomination — since adult and peer perceptions of the same behavior often diverge
• A safe, predictable group climate; learners will not practice vulnerable social moves in an environment where errors are mocked
• Explicit teaching of the target skill before expecting it in the flow of activity (Modeling, Coaching during the interaction, then Feedback after)

Constraints¶

• Generic "social skills training" delivered out of context shows weak maintenance and generalization; skills practiced in a pull-out group often fail to transfer to the playground or the project team [~M]
• Grouping struggling learners together for remediation can consolidate negative reputations and increase peer rejection [-M]
• Punitive responses to skill gaps (removing a learner from group work because they argue) remove the very practice context the learner needs [-M]
• Cultural norms for eye contact, assertiveness, and turn-taking vary; behaviors flagged as deficits in one cultural frame may be norms in another [~M]

Implementation Variability¶

• Universal screening + Tier 1 embedding: all learners receive structured cooperative work; the teacher identifies gaps during observation and adjusts grouping and roles
• Targeted small-group support: brief, skill-specific sessions (e.g., conflict-negotiation scripts) followed immediately by coached application in a real academic task
• Peer-mediated approaches: training a peer partner in prompting and reinforcement, which builds the supporter's skills as well
• Adult-mediated coaching in the moment: quiet prompts, pre-arranged signals, or role assignment during group work rather than separate intervention time

Target Learners¶

• Learners with identified social communication differences (e.g., autism spectrum, ADHD, language impairment), who benefit most from explicit instruction and structured roles rather than unstructured "social time" [~M]
• Learners experiencing peer rejection or isolation, where self-efficacy in social situations is low and avoidance cycles have begun Self-efficacy predicts persistence in academic settings. [+M]
• Anxious learners who possess the skills but under-display them; these learners need lowered-stakes entry points, not instruction in the skill itself [~M]
• Learners who are skilled but use those skills coercively (dominating groups, manipulating peers) — identification must distinguish skill absence from skill misuse

Target Learning Goals¶

• Interpersonal communication: initiating, listening, clarifying, and responding
• Cooperation and role negotiation within Collaborative Learning structures
• Conflict resolution and repair after ruptures
• Help-seeking: recognizing when support is needed and requesting it appropriately
• Self-monitoring of one's own social impact Self-monitoring improves self-regulation. [+M]

Instructions¶

1. Observe with structure. During Collaborative Learning tasks and transitions, use a simple tally or checklist of target behaviors (initiations made, responses to peers, repair attempts) across several sessions to distinguish a stable gap from a bad day.
2. Triangulate. Combine observation with a brief self-report or check-in (Check-In) and, where appropriate, peer input; a learner's own account of a conflict often reveals a missing sub-skill (e.g., interpreting tone) rather than a motivation problem.
3. Name the specific skill. Translate observations into one concrete, teachable target ("joining a group by asking a question") rather than a trait label ("struggles socially").
4. Model and rehearse. Demonstrate the skill, then rehearse it in a low-stakes format such as Act It Out or role-play before live use.
5. Embed in authentic work. Assign the learner a role that requires the target skill within a real group task, with Coaching available in the moment and pre-taught scripts or sentence stems as a scaffold.
6. Give process-level feedback. After the interaction, provide specific feedback on the strategy used, not a global judgment of the learner Feedback is most effective at the task and process levels. [+S].
7. Fade support. Reduce prompts, scripts, and adult proximity as the learner succeeds independently, transferring responsibility to the learner Fading support promotes transfer of responsibility. [+M].
8. Protect the reputation. Ensure groupmates experience the learner's contributions positively; structure early successes so the intervention does not become a public marker of deficit.

Related Strategies¶

• Active Listening — the receptive half of relationship skills; teaching it explicitly supports the identification-and-support cycle
• Building Empathy — perspective-taking underlies conflict resolution and repair
• Check-Ins — a low-cost routine for surfacing relational states that observation alone misses
• Implement cooperative learning with extended training, direct social-skills teaching, and small initial groups
• Combine needs-based and pre-taught approaches when introducing social skills to cooperative groups
• Target school-climate improvement within individual schools and communities, using schoolwide behavior systems, social-emotional learning, and compensatory supports

Examples¶

• Responsive Classroom (https://www.responsiveclassroom.org) — uses daily morning meetings and structured partner activities as the universal Tier 1 context in which teachers observe and coach relationship skills.
• PATHS curriculum (https://www.pathseducation.com) — a published SEL program with explicit lessons on friendship and conflict resolution followed by in-context coaching.
• Cooperative learning with assigned roles (e.g., Kagan structures, https://www.kaganonline.com) — assigning roles such as encourager or recorder gives a learner with weak initiation skills a defined, rehearsed entry point into interaction.
• Second Step (https://www.secondstep.org) — includes scripted skill practice and take-home activities targeting specific interpersonal sub-skills.

Key Sources¶

• Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
• Jones, S. M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies. Child Policy Nexus, 26(4), 1-33. doi:10.1002/j.2379-3988.2012.tb00073.x
• Denham, S. A., & Brown, C. (2010). "Plays nice with others": Social-emotional learning and academic success. Early Education and Development, 21(5), 652–680. doi:10.1080/10409289.2010.497450
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Framework for systemic social and emotional learning. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/
• Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365–379. doi:10.3102/0013189X09339057