Social Consciousness
Social awareness can be defined as a person’s ability to perceive the society around them. In this sense, it is important to understand how the reflection of public actions, such as education and health, affects society at all levels. Likewise, each person needs to look at how their individual actions affect others.
With this, social conscience presupposes having sensitivity to the needs of other people and the environment. This is very important for building fundamental values , such as respect, responsibility and a sense of justice.
Why is she important?
Values must be learned from childhood, as they encourage young people to realize their responsibility in the world in which they live, which will be taken with them throughout their lives. Thus, it is possible to improve family and school relationships, in addition to consolidating the foundations of a fairer and more balanced society.
For this, it is important that some socio-emotional skills are stimulated. See what they are.
development of empathy
Empathy is an important part of social awareness. The term refers to the ability to put oneself in the other’s shoes and is fundamental for the education of children and adolescents.
When education favors empathy, it is possible to reduce violence, in addition to helping young people to maintain their emotional balance. This makes them sensitive towards other people and thus able to develop healthier relationships.
Greater sense of collaboration
By developing the ability to consider other people and not just look at yourself, the sense of team and the collaborative spirit improve a lot. This action favors proactivity and creativity, which are important skills for life.
When social awareness is valued by school and family education, young people perceive themselves as people with responsibilities in their environment and understand that all their actions have an effect on others.
In this way, their self-esteem is also favored and the activities that are carried out gain more meaning. This occurs because the little one also recognizes himself as someone important and with the ability to make a difference in the place where he is.
personality formation
During youth, personality begins to be formed. In this sense, a good education, which is based on solid values, is essential for children and adolescents to become responsible, fair and honest adults.
Thus, it is important that the learning of social awareness takes place through dialogue at home, in addition to debates, conversation circles and social studies at school. However, it is also necessary that the young person be invited to know some issues in practice, so that he perceives realities that are different from his own.
This can be done through social projects, which are important to break down prejudices and show young people its transforming power. In this way, it is possible for them to learn about equality, respect for others and greater appreciation of diversity.
Greater control of emotions
Developing social awareness is important for young people to better understand the world they live in, which also helps them understand more about their own emotions. Thus, by recognizing other people’s feelings, they also develop a better relationship with their own emotions.
By having contact with different realities, it is possible to exercise greater love for others, humility and respect. In this sense, it is necessary to consider that children and adolescents learn many things by example. In this way, when they are in an environment where the collective spirit and social responsibility are valued, the tendency is for them to repeat these actions as well.
How does social awareness influence development?
The values transmitted with social awareness are important to encourage young people with regard to their responsibilities towards the environment to which they belong and, thus, create a more balanced and well-developed society.
Among these values, we can mention empathy , the ability to perceive the other and to put yourself in their shoes. However, anyone who thinks that an empathetic child, for example, is just someone free from violent behavior is mistaken.
In fact, this concept is linked to important aspects for the formation of the individual, such as accepting diversity and combating bullying , knowing how to work in a team and being proactive. Therefore, this is one of the main skills to be developed in children, so that they can work on their intelligence and manage their emotions.
How to stimulate social awareness in children?
Helping children develop social awareness is a way to get your children to spend more time with their family. Check out our tips on the subject.
development of empathy
For social awareness to occur, it is important to work with the development of some socio-emotional skills . Empathy, as we have already said, is fundamental in the formation of the individual, allowing the child to put himself in the place of another person. In this way, it becomes possible to help young people to be more sensitive, develop healthy relationships and reduce violence rates.
By dealing with empathy, the spirit of teamwork is improved, favoring the development of proactivity and creativity. In this way, the individual can understand that all his actions generate consequences that affect the other people around him. Thus, he perceives himself as an important role in society and can make a difference.
Stimulation of critical thinking
Working on social awareness is essential to form children who become adults not only with autonomy , but with responsibility and honesty. Therefore, parents can encourage critical thinking in everyday situations so that they exercise their ability to reason and put themselves in the other’s shoes.
This is not just a school task, as children and young people tend to interact much more with their families. In fact, it is essential that the family and educational institution are in tune with regard to the importance of critical thinking. In this way, your children will have an integral development, between the school and home environment.
But, after all, how to do this at home? It is a fact that many parents fear maintaining a frequent dialogue with their children , especially about more complex or abstract subjects, such as talking about feelings. However, this doesn’t have to be difficult. See our tips below:
- ensure that your children have space in the house to express themselves, even if their ideas and opinions are not the same as adults;
- tell stories to stimulate children’s imaginations and ask questions about the readings. Ask what they thought, their opinion about the characters, what they learned from the story, etc.;
- talk to your kids at bedtime to encourage reflection on the day gone by;
- help name feelings. Children don’t always have enough vocabulary to express what they feel.
Participation in social projects
Promoting situations in which the child can experience realities that are different from their own, such as social projects, is a great way to stimulate social awareness. In this way, she learns, in practice, notions of equality and breaking prejudices.
In social projects, children come to understand more about the world, their emotions and the feelings of others, developing a sense of humility and respect. Best of all, it’s not too difficult to find interesting alternatives. Search the internet for actions in your city that make, for example, donations of clothes and textbooks.
Projects may also vary according to commemorative dates. Children’s Day and Christmas, for example, are favorable times of the year for this type of help.
