Date of Award
1-1-1991
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Polly Peterson
Committee Member
Ken Foyder
Keywords
academic achievement, academic failure, at-risk students, behavioral checklists, conflict resolution, decision-making skills, disciplinary offenses, oppositional behavior, primary-aged students, problem-solving skills, school departure prevention, second grade teachers, social adjustment, social skills, social skills training, study habits, task completion, under-socialized students, weekly training program
Abstract
The practicum addressed the need of improving noncompliant, oppositional, defiant, under-socialized, primary aged, at risk students’ social skills. They exhibited poor study habits, academic failure, and were subsequent prime candidates of early school departures.
Project kind, a weekly social skills training program, was designed and developed by the writer to help students acquire socially acceptable behaviors. Its focus aimed at helping them acquire conflict resolution tools by developing problem-solving and decision-making skills that included anticipatory outcomes and/or consequences. Improved social adjustment embodied the concept of solving problems without physically or verbally abusing others.
The 18 students were selected by their second grade teachers who completed behavioral checklists, a pretest, and a post test, for each student. Documentation included, comparing the post test, percentile. Rankings with the pretest, observations, decrease number of disciplinary, offenses, task completion, and increased academic proficiency.
The outcome of the practicum was that all 18 students who were equally divided into groups, A and B, made notable gains in their social adjustment. As a result, the students' work study skills improved, and their academic achievement increased.