Cynthia Johnson
Spring 2010
Action Research Class
Edinboro University Of Pennsylvania
What are specific social skills that children need to be
successful in school?
Are there age specific social skills children must develop?
What are specific social skills that children need to be successful in
school?
Are there age specific social skills children must develop?
With the increasing number of children entering school diagnosed with
mental health disorders, social skills instruction seems to be necessary for
academic development of all children. Children lacking in appropriate social
interactions create the need for interventions within the classroom that disrupt
the learning environment for all children. The children requiring specialized
interventions to develop social skills become at risk for developing and
maintaining relationships that enhance academic acquisition. As an elementary
school counselor, I have observed more children who seem to require direct
social skills interventions to be successful in the classroom as well as in social
situations.
Although I am not directly involved in disciplinary actions, I receive
referrals from the principals and teachers when a child’s behavior is disrupting
the climate of the classroom or other areas. Consequences for such behaviors
vary based upon a child’s socially inappropriate actions and the recidivism of
specific behaviors. I do however, become involved in implementing strategies to
improve the child’s interactions. During the implementation process, I have had
a need to adapt the strategies to meet the child’s age level. For these reasons I
propose to determine age specific social skills necessary for academic success.
Furthermore, I will attempt to discover developmentally appropriate strategies to
implement in order to assist children in acquiring social skills.
Numerous studies support the observations I have made regarding social
skills development in children. Welsh and Bierman (2001) report that “ skills and
behaviors required for social development vary with the age of the child and the
demands of the situation.”
1
They conclude their research by stating that
“children with a wide repertoire of social skills are likely to be socially
competent.”
2
Another author of social skills education, Laura Candler, indicates
that social skills are the “biggest contributing factor in academic success.”3
Additional research (www.athealth.com/consumer/
disorders/childsocialskills.html) implies that children need “minimal social
competence by the age of six” in order to avoid becoming at risk in adulthood.
4
Study after study emphasizes the need for children to acquire social skills to be
successful in all domains of their lives.
In terms of age appropriate development of social skills, several
researchers highlight the attainment of specific skills at specific ages.
www.emracethefutur.org.au/resiliency/index.htm/resiliency site identifies three
levels of acquisition. Basic interaction, defined as smiling, making eye contact
and listening would be the expected interactions of a child during birth to
approximately ages three to five. As children enter school (ages five – eight),
1
2
Welsh & Bierman (2001)
Welsh & Bierman (2001)
they would be observed to be learning the skills of Entry / approach. During this
stage of development a child would be learning how to approach individuals
socially. Finally, these authors suggest the necessity of Maintenance skills which
would begin to emerge during the ages of eight into adulthood. Maintenance
skills include sharing, taking turns and following rules. Erikson’s Psychosocial
Stages of development outlines a similar, more complex hierarchy of skills.
Data Collection:
Since many of the children in need of social skills development have
Individual Education Plans, I purpose to survey the special education staff at my
school. The individuals to provide input would be the speech language clinician
and four learning support teachers. A questionnaire will be developed for each
individual to complete. The questionnaire would request information relating to
social skills required at specific grade levels and a scale to determine the level of
need for direct social skills interventions.
Because a child’s lack of social skills can be disruptive to the learning
process, teachers complete conduct reports to document inappropriate
behaviors. In order to collect additional data, I will review the disciplinary
reports focusing on the infractions of the students with Individualized Education
Plans.
Data Analysis/Interpretation:
3
Candler (2010)
I developed a questionnaire for each of my special education teacher to
complete. We have 86 students with Individualized Education Plans ranging for
kindergarten to sixth grade and four learning support teachers and one speech
clinician to support their education. Each teacher is assigned a range of grades
depending upon a child’s specific need for support. Therefore, in determining age
or grade specific social skills, there is a small overlapping of grades. Students
with Individualized Education Plans have been identified as specific learning
disability, emotionally disturbed, other health impaired, mental retardation and
speech language impaired. All teachers agree the students on their caseload are
in need of social skills instruction.
The list of social skills was developed based upon the research completed
previously (Attachment 1). As I look at the results of my questionnaire, it
appears as though a more specific type of instrument or a wider selection of
teachers would need to happen in order to determine age specific social skills
development. The results of the teacher survey (Attachment 2) shows that all
age levels need all of the social skills within the questionnaire. Teacher opinion
is also present in the data. For example, children in kindergarten and sixth
grade need to learn to use quiet voices while students in grades two, three, four
and 5 do not; or those teachers did not feel as if that skill was as important as
the others.
4
Assessing Young Children’s Social Competence (2010)
Once I reviewed the conduct reports of students with Individualized
Education Plans, I realized I needed more information. I then created a report of
the disciplinary infractions of non Individualized Education Plan students. This
provided a comparison of behavioral infraction of all students. Our total school
population is 640 and our learning support students comprise 86 or about 14 %
of all the students. In many cases the data reflects that students with
Individualized Education Plans have a similar number of infractions as students
without Individualized Education Plans. This suggests that our students with
Individualized Education Plans are in a more serious need for social skills
interventions.
As the conduct report data between non Individualized Education Plan
students and Individualized Education Plan students is reviewed, a number of
observations can be made. The first obvious realization is that all of our
students seem to be in need of bus interventions. Another observation is that
the behavior of “refusal to comply” is not reported among the non Individualized
Education Plan group while the Individualized Education Plan group does have
this infraction. While other comparisons exist, a final note is made with the
increased number of incidences in the “disrespect to student” and “disrespect to
teacher” among the Individualized Education Plan students.
Implications:
All the data collected infers that social skills instruct is necessary for all
students in grades kindergarten through sixth. Furthermore, students with
Individualized Education Plans do appear to be at a higher risk than our non
Individualized Education Plan students for possessing social inappropriate
behaviors.
In order to identify age specific social skills, a wider range survey of
teachers would be required. However, the data seems to show that any social
skills instruction would be beneficial. Perhaps a developmental continuum of
social skills would assist in presenting appropriate instruction; requiring
additional research.
In regard to the conduct report data, bus issues should be a priority of
research as to why these incidences are so high. A second priority might involve
assisting teachers with an understanding of a student’s disability as well as
providing the teachers with a suggested list of strategies to implement when a
student displays a specific type of behavior. It would be important to be aware
of each teacher’s strengths, weaknesses and tolerance levels in placing students
in homerooms since these attributes can benefit all students.
Conclusions:
This project has enabled me to take an in depth look at our students
social skills need and behavioral infractions. Although I was aware of some
issues, I have a more concrete manner through EXCEL to compare and analyze
information. Our building is currently working on constructing a program to
decrease bus incidences and I plan to share this data with my administration. I
would like to chart, especially bus information, for next year to determine if our
interventions had an impact. Overall, this experience has benefited me in
learning how to research, what to research and a method to present the
research.
Recommendations:
The implementation of a social skills curriculum is my primary
recommendation. I would like to begin lessons or assist teachers with lessons
during the 2010 -2011 school year. Additional research would be necessary for
me to determine developmentally appropriate lessons. I would also suggest the
utilizing the “Peaceful School Bus” information I received during a bullying inservice. This program focuses on creating a “bus” community in which students
feel connected and a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
Questionnaire for Action Research Project
Spring 2010
Social Skills Development in Elementary Age Children
Position:
Grade Level:
# Students on caseload:
The students on my case load are in need of social skills development.
1- strongly disagree
2- disagree
3-neutral
4-agree
5-strongly agree
The students on my case load have a diagnosis that interferes with their
social development.
1- strongly disagree
2- disagree
3- neutral
4- agree
5- strongly agree
Please indicate the social attributes you feel your students would benefit from
developing.
Eye contact
Accepting responsibility for action
Taking turns
Praising others
Saying kind things
Staying on task
Sharing materials
Respects authority
Asking for help
Patient waiting
Using quiet voices
Encouraging others
Participating equally
Tolerance for differences
Resolving conflicts
Following directions
Managing materials
Hygiene
Managing anger
Respecting social boundaries
Making friendships
Please list any other social attributes you would like to see your students
develop.
Thank you for your participation.
Bibliography
Assisting Young Children’s Social Competence. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb 28, 2019, from
http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/childsocialskills.html.
Beirman, K. and Welsh, J. ( 2001). Social Competence. Encyclopedia of Childhood and
Adolescence. Retrieved Feb 28, 2010.
Candler, L. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb 28, 2010 from,
http://www.incrediblehorizons.com/social-skills.htm
Development of Social Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb 28, 2010, from,
http://www.incrediblehorizons.com/social-skills.htm.
Egeland, B, Erikson, M, and Sroufe, A. (n.d.). The Relationship Between Quality of
Attachment and Behavior Problems in Preschool in an at Risk Sample. Monographs of the Society
for Research in Child Development. Retrieved Feb 28, 2010, from, http://www.jstor.org/pss/3333831
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb 28, 2010, from,
http://www.psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm.
Haag, S. (2005). What About Social Skills. Retrieved Feb 16, 2010 from
http://www.iched.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=iched&item_id.
Harter, S & Pike, R. (Dec. 1984).The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for
Young Children. Child Development, Vol. 55. No. 6, pp. 1969-1983. Retrieved Feb 28, 2010,from,
http.//www.jstor.org/pss.1129772.
Harter, S. ( Feb, 1982). The Perceived Competence Scale for Children.Child Development, Vol. 53, No. 1,
pp. 87 – 97. Retrieved Feb 28, 2010 from, http://www.jstor.org/pss1129640.
Social Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved March21, 2010, from,
http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/index.htm.