The Strength of "Soft Skills"

For almost 30 years, Dr. Maurice J. Elias, Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University, has focused on social emotional health and character development in children. “The yardstick we use to measure success in schools is inadequate,” he argues. “It is possible to have kids be academically successful in school but not in life.”

Dr. Elias believes that true success requires a confluence of social-emotional skills and character development, within the classroom as well as in the entire school environment.  

“We can’t learn in the absence of dealing with our emotional state…..we learn from the people we care about.” For Elias and researchers like him, schools are made up of relationships and the relationships count.

This should be enough to make educators everywhere—especially those in the field of early childhood—applaud with unbridled excitement, a true “told you so” moment. After all, it’s what many of us have been arguing for years. Early childhood educators know the importance of the social emotional experience of preschool, including developing healthy relationships. We realize that the so-called “soft skills” are where the real heavy lifting occurs in preschools. 

A recent meta-analysis conducted by USAID in the recently released Child’s Trend shows that development and honing of these skills goes far beyond the classroom. It impacts employment success. 

The report, entitled Workforce Connections, Key “soft skills” that foster youth workforce success: Toward a consensus across fields, highlights the growing body of research that suggests that “soft skills” may rival the “academic or technical skills in their ability to predict employment and earnings…”

Soft skills as defined in the article “refer to a broad set of skills, competencies, behaviors, attitudes, and personal qualities that enable people to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals. These skills are broadly applicable and complement other skills such as technical, vocational, and academic skills.”

The report goes on to highlight that while soft skills are more important than ever for the workforce, employers are reporting new workforce members lack them. This gap in skills isn’t limited to geographic boundaries; employers around the world are lamenting the fact that job applicants lack the soft skills needed to fill available positions (Manpower Group, 2013).

Now back to the classroom. Quality preschools know that developing soft skills begins with the teacher/child relationship. Carl Jung said it so eloquently: “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”