The aim of this Bachelor’s thesis was to examine sixth graders’ experiences of social competence and their ideas for developing in it. The aim was to make the pupils aware of the importance of social skills and how they should work with others. The research questions in this thesis were: how well do sixth graders get along with their schoolmates and how would they like to develop in it. The theoretical background examines school-age as a phase of life and social competence and social skills in relation to school environment and classroom community.

The research material was collected during one lesson by asking sixth graders to respond to a survey which included four themes. All obtained material was categorized according to the themes. The answers showed that all the pupils thought they have great social skills and that fights between pupils were rare. The sixth graders manage to resolve most disagreements by themselves and in general fighting is not considered meaningful. The majority of the respondents had no concrete ideas how to develop working with other children in possible conflict situations.

Based on the obtained data, the conclusion was that the positive tone of the responses must have been influenced by the time that the survey was held, the positive attitude of the pupils that participated and the significant fact that this specific school participated in the KiVa Koulu® project. Surely, the positive attitudes shown in the answers and the great team spirit of the sixth graders were uplifting.