If you're unfamiliar with the CASEL framework, we highly recommend reading this article first, as it will greatly enhance your understanding of soft skills.
Check it out here.
Introduction to Initiative:
Initiative involves taking proactive steps and making decisions independently to achieve goals or solve problems. It encompasses the drive to pursue goals beyond what's required, exploring new ideas, and seizing opportunities to learn and grow. For children, taking initiative might look like starting a project on their own or helping others without being asked.
Core Area of Competence:
Initiative is closely linked with the following CASEL core areas of competence:
Self-Management: Set, monitor, adapt, achieve and evaluate goals.
Relationship Management: Cultivate constructive relationships with others.
Core Behaviors that require the Initiative skill:
6-8 Years:
Self-Management:
Goal-Oriented Actions: Children begin to set simple personal goals and take steps to achieve them.
Example: A child decides they want to learn to tie their shoes and practices daily until they master it.
Relationship Management:
Helping Peers: Demonstrating a willingness to help classmates without being prompted.
Example: A learner notices a classmate struggling with a task and offers to help, showing initiative in fostering a supportive classroom environment.
9-11 Years:
Self-Management:
Pursuing Interests: Actively seeking out information and activities that align with personal interests.
Example: A learner passionate about dinosaurs initiates a research project to present to the class, showcasing their enthusiasm and self-driven learning.
Relationship Management:
Fostering Teamwork and Inclusion: Actively engaging peers to participate in activities that promote teamwork and ensure everyone feels included.
Example: A learner notices some classmates are often left out during recess and proposes a new game that requires everyone to participate, explaining the rules and making sure each person has a role.
12-14 Years:
Self-Management:
Self-Directed Learning: Engaging in learning opportunities outside the classroom to deepen knowledge in a specific area.
Example: A teen learner enrolls in a coding workshop during their summer break to develop their programming skills further.
Relationship Management:
Leading by Example: Inspiring peers through proactive behavior and positive action.
Example: A learner volunteers to a community clean-up effort, rallying classmates to participate and make a difference.
15-17 Years:
Self-Management:
Strategic Planning for Future Goals: Creating detailed plans for achieving long-term educational and career goals.
Example: A high school learner researches universities and majors, sets up meetings with counselors, and attends college fairs to make informed decisions about their future.
Relationship Management:
Building Support Networks: Initiating efforts to create supportive communities among peers, emphasizing mutual assistance and encouragement.
Example: Recognizing the stress of exam season, a learner organizes a peer-led support group where classmates can share study resources, relaxation techniques, and encouragement, fostering a sense of solidarity and reducing anxiety through collective effort.
Promoting the Initiative skill:
For Parents and Care Givers:
Encourage children to pursue their interests and projects, providing the resources and support they need to explore their ideas.
Model initiative by engaging in new activities, learning new skills, and sharing these experiences with your children.
Praise efforts to take on new challenges, solve problems independently, and help others, reinforcing the value of proactive behavior.
For Tutors:
Create a classroom culture that celebrates curiosity and independent thought. Encourage learners to propose and lead projects or clubs.
Offer opportunities for learners to set personal learning goals and develop plans to achieve them, providing guidance and feedback along the way.
Facilitate peer mentoring programs where older learners can take the initiative in supporting younger learners academically and socially.
Feedback and Reflection:
Provide specific feedback on learners' efforts to take initiative, highlighting both their successes and areas for growth.
Encourage reflection on instances where taking initiative led to personal growth or helped overcome a challenge. Ask questions like, "What motivated you to start that project?" or "How did leading the group activity change your perspective on teamwork?"
Foster goal-setting discussions focused on future initiatives, whether they're personal, academic, or community-oriented. Help students identify actionable steps to reach these goals and periodically review their progress.
Emphasize the importance of resilience and learning from experiences, both positive and negative. Encourage students to consider what they learned from each initiative they undertook and how this knowledge can inform their future actions.
Additional Resources:
Read more about how we can foster our drive and initiatives in the book [“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”](Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us).
Read in BetterUp more tips on how to take more initiatives and how this skill can benefit you.
Conclusion:
Developing the skill of initiative is crucial for personal and professional success. It empowers individuals to actively pursue their goals, lead by example, and make a positive impact in their communities. By fostering this skill from a young age, parents, caregivers, and tutors can help learners become proactive, resilient, and engaged citizens. Encouraging learners to take initiative not only contributes to their immediate success but also equips them with the mindset and skills necessary for lifelong growth and achievement.
References
Alcalá, L., Rogoff, B., Mejía-Arauz, R., Coppens, A. D., & Dexter, A. L. (2014). Children's initiative in contributions to family work in indigenous-heritage and cosmopolitan communities in Mexico. Human Development, 57(2-3), 96-115.
Hekmer, J. M. (1996). Exploring optimal personality development: A longitudinal study of adolescents. Dissertation, University of Chicago.
Hopkins, G. P. (1978). Encouraging student initiative and involvement in group discussion through functional group interdependence.
Liando, N. V., & Lumettu, R. (2017). Students' Personal Initiative towards Their Speaking Performance. International education studies, 10(8), 21-28.
Luchaninov, D., Bazhenov, R., Bazhenova, N., Gorbunova, T., & Bogatenkov, S. (2018). Development of student’s initiative in future profession: the lecturer’s option of interaction based training forms approach. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 48, p. 01005). EDP Sciences.
Kangas, J. (2016). Enhancing children's participation in early childhood education through participatory pedagogy. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Viitattu, 8, 2017.
Kangas, J., & Lastikka, A. L. (2019). Children’s initiatives in the Finnish early childhood education context. Nordic families, children and early childhood education, 15-36.
Korotaeva, E. V., & Svyattseva, A. V. (2016). Initiative development in preschool children. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 233, 280-286.