Respectful Relationships
What is happening in RRRR this year?
Introducing the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program covers eight areas of Social and Emotional Learning across all levels of primary and secondary schools. This week we will introduce you to the eight topics and more specifically what outcomes students will achieve during topic 1.
Topic | Topic Introduction & Research Evidence | Term |
1 | Emotional Literacy Emotional literacy can be defined as the ability to understand ourselves and other people. It includes the ability to understand, express and manage our own emotions, build empathy, and to respond appropriately to the emotions of others. Building a large vocabulary for emotions helps to increase emotional literacy and build self- awareness and empathy for others.
Research shows that students who participate in rigorously designed and well taught social and emotional learning programs demonstrate more positive social behaviour, are less likely to engage in risky and disruptive behaviour, and show improved academic outcomes. Collaborative learning activities help students to build their social skills. Building a large vocabulary for emotions helps to increase emotional literacy, build self-awareness and empathy for others.
| 1 |
2 | Personal Strengths Children and young people need a vocabulary to help them recognise and understand strengths and positive qualities in themselves and others. This topic provides learning activities to build this vocabulary and to use it when discussing personal, social and ethical challenges. Research in the field of positive psychology emphasises the importance of identifying and using individual strengths. Social and emotional learning programs which use strength- based approaches promote student wellbeing, positive behaviour and academic achievement.
Research in the field of positive psychology emphasises the importance of identifying and using individual strengths. Social and emotional learning programs which use strength-based approaches promote student wellbeing, positive behaviour and academic achievement.
| 1 |
3 | Positive Coping Learning activities in this topic provide opportunities for students to identify and discuss different types of coping strategies. When children and young people develop a language around coping, they are more likely to be able to understand and deliberately utilise a range of productive coping strategies and diminish their use of unproductive coping strategies. Students learn to extend their repertoire of coping strategies and benefit from critically reflecting on their own choices and being exposed to alternative options. Activities introduce students to the concept of self-talk and practice using positive self-talk to approach and manage challenging situations. Positive self-talk is a key strategy for coping with negative thoughts, emotions and events. It is associated with greater persistence in the face of challenge, and can be learnt or strengthened through practice.
As they grow and develop, all children will encounter situations where they feel worried, nervous and sometimes even scared. Individuals deal with the demands on them by drawing on a range of coping strategies. Some strategies are more productive than others. Helping students to learn a range of positive coping skills will allow them to develop and practise these skills and enable them to cope with future changes and challenges. Positive self-talk is a key strategy for coping with negative thoughts, emotions, and events. Resilience research shows that use of positive self-talk is associated with greater persistence in the face of challenge, whereas negative self-talk is associated with higher levels of distress, depression and anxiety. Positive self-talk can be learnt or strengthened through practise.
| 2 |
4 | Problem solving Problem-solving skills are an important part of the coping repertoire. The classroom program provides a number of learning activities to develop students’ problem-solving skills. The activities in the program assist students to develop their critical and creative thinking skills, and to apply them to scenarios exploring personal, social and ethical dilemmas.
It is important to help students learn a range of problem-solving skills through applied learning tasks so they are able to cope with the challenges they face in the future. Problem-solving is identified by the World Health Organisation as a key skill for health. To be able to solve problems, children need to be able to think critically and evaluate the consequences of various actions.
| 2 |
5 | Stress Management Children and young people experience a range of personal, social and work-related stressors in their everyday lives. Activities within this topic have an explicit focus on teaching positive approaches to stress management. Assisting students to recognise their personal signs and symptoms of stress, and to develop strategies that will help them to deal with stress effectively, will help students cope with future challenges. The activities focus on the ways in which self-calming strategies can be used to manage stressful situations.
Stress is a normal part of life, especially as children get older. Children who cope better with life’s stressors develop good mental health and wellbeing. Assisting students recognise their personal signs and symptoms of stress and to develop strategies that will help them to deal with those effectively, will help them cope with challenges in the future.
| 3 |
6 | Help Seeking Learning activities in this topic area are designed to help students discuss the importance of seeking help and providing peer support when dealing with problems that are too big to solve alone. This helps to normalise and de- stigmatise help-seeking behaviour. Scenario-based activities help students identify situations in which help should be sought, identify trusted sources of help, and practice seeking help from peers and adults.
Children can experience all kinds of challenges as they grow and develop. The help-seeking behaviours of children are fundamental to their mental health and wellbeing. Encouraging and fostering help-seeking behaviours is one way to improve mental health and wellbeing. It is important to work with students to make sure they are aware about help-seeking avenues and are confident to seek help from an appropriate source when needed.
| 3 |
7 | Gender and Identity Learning activities within this topic assist students to challenge stereotypes and critique the influence of gender norms on attitudes and behaviour. They learn about key issues relating to human rights and gender identity, and focus on the importance of respect within relationships. The activities promote respect for diversity and difference.
Research shows that children become aware of gender at an early age, being well aware of gender norms and making efforts to fit within gendered expectations by the time they are in kindergarten. As young children learn about gender, they may also begin to enact sexist values, beliefs and attitudes.16–20. They may, for example, insist that some games are for boys and others for girls, and actively reject peers from certain games. This means that it is important to commence work on building positive gender relationships within these early years. Classroom activities can be used to help children to explore gender identity, challenge stereotypes, and to learn to value and show respect for diversity and difference, and learn how to apply these attitudes within respectful gender relationships.
| 4 |
8 | Positive Gender Relations Learning activities within this topic focus on building an understanding of the effects of gender-based violence and focus on the standards associated with respectful relationships. Students develop the skills needed to solve problems, set boundaries within relationships, and play an active role within the prevention of gender-based violence. They develop peer support and help-seeking skills that can be applied in response to situations involving gender-based violence in family, peer, community or on-line relationships.
The development of empathy is pivotal in the prevention of discrimination and violence. Peers who have an empathetic engagement with the target of violence are more likely to proactively respond with acts of support or kindness. Those with rights affirming attitudes are less likely to engage in gender-based violence. Teachers with higher levels of empathy and greater awareness of the effect that violence can have on victims are more likely to intervene when they see or hear about instances of bullying. Continuing to develop students’ emotions vocabulary and encouraging them to monitor emotions in themselves and others, helps to build empathy. | 4 |
Topic 1 Emotional Literacy | ||
Year Level | Activities will assist students to: | |
Prep |
| |
1 & 2 |
| |
3 & 4 |
| |
5 & 6 |
| |