Social Skills Intervention for Primary Students

Statement of the Problem

Social skills deficits in children have been linked to low long-term academic achievement and classroom inefficiency. However, the reality is that many children begin their school careers with significant deficiencies in social and behavioral skills (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000; McClelland, Morrison, & Holmes, 2000). When children have not mastered basic school behaviors like cooperation, rule-following, and getting along with peers, they do not receive the maximum benefit from academic instruction (Gresham & Elliott, 2008; Walker et al., 1992). While stakeholders have expressed concerns that interventions focused on social behavior may result in a loss of academic instructional time and may shortchange academic outcomes (Malecki, 2002), research indicates that failing to address social issues in the classroom may have potentially life-altering effects. Additionally, eliminating the need to interrupt instruction to solve or mediate social issues among individual students or groups of students will net an overall gain in quality instructional time. The goal of this study is to identify a finite number of problem behaviors and tally their occurrences prior to, during, and after implementing a well-researched, reliable social skills intervention.

Rationale

School climate has been deemed an essential factor in students’ success, both academically and behaviorally (Brand, Felner, Shim, Seitsinger, & Dumas, 2003). A social climate of acceptance results in increased student engagement, higher academic achievement, and positive peer interactions (Albrecht, Mathur, Jones, & Alazemi, 2015). As early as 1978, Vygotsky recognized that social functioning with peers is necessary for the development of new ideas and skills. School is one of our culture’s primary sources of socialization (Albrecht, et al, 2015), and it is crucial to establish supportive classroom environments that encourage social communication and social problem-solving strategies to optimize student success (Wentzel & Looney, 2007). Students acquire socially acceptable behaviors in climates where positive social networks support opportunities for learning (Albrecht et al., 2015). Conversely, social skills deficits characterize students who are at risk for both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors (Gresham, 1998; Kavale, Mathur, & Mostert, 2006).

Researchers have documented a predictive relationship between positive social behaviors and high academic achievement (DiPerna & Elliott, 2002; Malecki & Elliott, 2002; Wentzel, 2009). In a 2016 longitudinal study, Rabiner, Godwin, and Dodge found that school grades in young adulthood were significantly lower for students who had experienced attention lower peer acceptance in early childhood. Many school districts across the United States are beginning to include social-emotional learning in state learning standards due to the positive links between prosocial behavior and positive psychosocial and academic outcomes (Gresham & Elliott, 2014). In 2002, Malecki & Elliott found that social skills were predictive of students’ concurrent levels of academic achievement, while problem behaviors were negatively predictive of students’ concurrent academic achievement. In addition, Malecki & Elliot’s (2002) research identified social skills as the only significant predictor of high academic functioning. Even as early as 1997, Bandura’s theory of social cognition suggested a causal path between social behavior and academic achievement.

Research documents numerous interventions to potentially increase students’ social competence. First, schools that develop school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) geared toward reducing inappropriate behaviors and teaching prosocial skills report fewer behavior problems (Bradshaw, Waasdorp, & Leaf, 2012; Crone, Horner, & Hawken, 2004). Comparatively, Gresham (2015) defines academic enablers as the behaviors and attitudes that allow students to participate and receive maximum benefit from classroom academic instruction. Using the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales (ACES), Gresham (2015) identified social skills as one such academic enabler that can positively impact academic achievement. Albrecht et al. (2015) employed Social Skills Training and Aggression Reduction Techniques plus Time-Away (STARTplus) in three Midwestern U.S. elementary schools over a three-year period. Based on the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, the program includes social skills training at the universal primary level, small group instruction at the targeted level, and individualized, intensive intervention in conflict resolution and problem-solving at the tertiary level. A study conducted by Harpin, Rossi, Kim, & Swanson (2016) tested a 10-week Mindfulness program, an amalgam of MindUp (The Hawn Foundation, 2011) and Mindful Schools (Cowan, 2001) curricula, with a fourth-grade class and compared results to those from a matched comparison classroom. Instruction was delivered by a certified Mindfulness instructor. At the end of the study, teachers reported significant positive gains in prosocial behavior, emotional regulation, and academic performance. Qualitative student feedback indicated high satisfaction with the curriculum and examples of students’ ability to transfer Mindfulness skills to unique settings (Harpin et al., 2016). Merritt, Wanless, Rimm-Kaufman, and Peugh (2012) investigated children’s relations between emotionally supportive teacher-student interaction and children’s social behaviors and self-regulatory schools in first grade classrooms. Results indicated that higher emotional support in teacher-student interactions correlated with lower child aggression and behavioral self-control (Merritt et al., 2012). Finally, in a 2014 study, Muratori et al. examined the effects of the Coping Power Program on reducing behavioral problems and improving prosocial skills in nine first and second grade classes. Findings showed a significant reduction in problematic behaviors and an increase in prosocial behaviors (Muratori, 2014).

In my own setting, I have seen a drastic change in students’ awareness of others, empathy, coping skills, and prosocial behaviors. My goal is to explore possible social skills interventions appropriate for primary students, and to choose one that has had documented success. I realize that in doing action research, there will likely be a great deal of reflection and modifying or changing the intervention. My current task is to read as much as I can about social skills curricula and programs and to familiarize myself with what is available. In addition, I intend to narrow my focus to a finite number of frequently-occurring problem behaviors and to document the occurrence of those behaviors (unofficially, for now) when they occur.

References

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