ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of some of the key elements in classroom social interaction and how they relate to establishing and maintaining teacher authority in an assertive way. Social competence (SC) is one component of an individual's overall personal competence. It concerns both self and social awareness – the way in which teachers understand themselves and others – as well as social behaviour – so it is an important element of self-regulation. SC can be divided into four subcomponents: temperament, character, social awareness, and emotion regulation. Immediacy is an individual's perception of psychological and physical closeness of others and includes both verbal and nonverbal behaviours. The chapter focuses on microskills relevant to classroom such as, face, eye contact, posture, and gesture. Listening skills are essential in teaching, particularly when trying to help pupils who are having difficulty with communicating their thoughts and feelings. Assertive behaviour is that which satisfies an individual's goals whilst maintaining respect for goals of others.
