The vital role of soft skills for homeschooling families and children with social anxiety

Soft skills, often referred to as people or human skills, serve as the backbone of personal and interpersonal prosperity and overall life satisfaction. Any successful adult and professional will corroborate the importance of effective communication, teamwork, conflict or stress management, and self-actualization. Nevertheless, even though the importance of soft skills in the realms of career success, personal growth, and academic success have been highlighted many times over, adults and parents overlook these human skills and focus on academic abilities and professional experience (Tushar & Sooraksa, 2023; Tao, et al., 2022; Gamble & Gamble, 2013; Hutchison & Campbell, 2020; Schneider & Preckel, 2017). When it comes to life success, soft skills hold equal if not superior significance to technical knowledge and experience. However, this X factor for individual success is often neglected because it is difficult to teach and even more complex to measure under typical circumstances. The complexity stems from the fact that soft skills are normally acquired through lived, social and professional experiences - the loop of attempts, failures, and self-reflection.

Children and teens develop an understanding of social norms, personal preferences, and the significance of human connections while interacting with peers. Through trial and error, experiencing frustration, and taking responsibility they evolve. With these experiences, they refine soft skills such as problem-solving, self-expression, self-regulation, and conflict management. However, not all learners have the same opportunities for development. For example, for homeschooling families and children dealing with social anxiety, developing these interpersonal and emotional skills is increasingly difficult and crucial.

Homeschooling presents a distinctive educational landscape where children are primarily taught within the confines of their homes, away from the traditional classroom setting. While this presents the opportunity for numerous benefits, including personalized learning and flexibility, it also produces challenges in the dimensions of social, emotional, and even personal development. A similar case can be made for learners who find social settings especially stressful or anxiety-inducing. If the negative emotions associated with social environments gets in the way of forming friendships and learning about interpersonal dynamics, the children and teens risk falling behind on personal growth - ultimately leading to unsatisfactory relationships and lower overall well-being (Kang, 2023; Lamela & Figueiredo, 2023).

Without the space to navigate social dynamics and the challenges that come with cultivating peer-to-peer relationships, as is the case for learners who are either homeschooled or lack social enrichment due to personal or external factors, growing adults risk omitting vital skills for life and career success including effective communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence (LinkedIn Learning, 2024). At Morphoses, we offer to bridge this gap by providing an end-to-end enrichment program where learners can hone all crucial soft skills while tackling fun and difficult challenges together, having facilitated discussions, and making meaningful connections worldwide.

Author: Manana Natsvlishvili