The Study
A degree of shyness is normal for children whenever social expectations are new or ambiguous, but shyness becomes a problem when withdrawal is the usual behavior, and the child is labeled as "shy." A number of studies have focused on the causes of shyness and described coping strategies for teachers to use in working effectively with these students. Dr. Jere Brophy, University Distinguished Professor of Teacher Education, summarizes this research in his book, Teaching Problem Students.

The Findings
Children are susceptible to self-consciousness when: (1) the social situation makes them feel conspicuous or psychologically unprotected; (2) they are expected to perform in public or are being evaluated; (3) they have not developed effective conversational skills; (4) they have experienced repeated failure, mistreatment or rejection from adults or peers. Teachers, peers, and out-of-school organizations can help shy and withdrawn children by providing self-concept support, encouragement, and opportunities for them to interact and contribute in positive ways. Seating a shy child among friendly classmates, engaging shy children in cooperative classroom activities, minimizing the possibilities for stress or embarrassment and involving them in frequent private talks are some simple strategies teachers can use to increase the responsiveness of shy or withdrawn children. Some of these students, however, may need direct instruction in social skills to enable them to participate more comfortably and freely in the classroom.

What It Means to You
Most strategies to help shy and withdrawn students are easy to implement, and they complement basic classroom processes. Although most teachers develop an intuitive understanding of some of the needs of shy or withdrawn students, many teachers can learn to meet these needs more fully by systematically using the strategies recommended by these studies. For example, a teacher might want to: determine the interests of shy students and use these interests as the basis for learning activities; display their good work for others to see in the classroom; partner them with a classmate who is popular and interacts frequently with peers; help shy children set social development goals and assist them in learning needed social skills; take time to talk briefly with them one-on-one each day; or give them a designated role that will cause them to interact with others.

More Information
You can get more information on working with shy or withdrawn students by consulting Brophy, J. (1996) Teaching Problem Students, New York: Guilford.

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