Date of Award
1991
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Harlee Sievers
Committee Member
JoEllen Salce Rogers
Keywords
culturally deprived, culturally handicapped, delinquent behavior, learning disabled, low achievers, middle school children, social adjustment, social behaviors, social defective, social skills, social values, socially handicapped
Abstract
This practicum was designed to help the low-achieving and the learning-disabled student (SLD) acquire appropriate social skills. The general goal was to have the students involved in the project demonstrate proficiency in accepting thanks, saying thanks, accepting compliments, giving compliments, apologizing, accepting "no," accepting criticism, and resisting peer pressure. The secondary aim was to decrease the number of students placed in the after-school detention program.
A survey documenting the needs for a social skills project was administered to the teachers, the writer initiated the social skills for daily living program. The writer introduced a pull-out program with low-achieving and learning-disabled sixth-grade students. Students met with the writer once a week for 32 weeks to stimulate continued interest and enthusiasm. They brought a board game with the students' pictures was invited by the writer.
Post-tests of each social skill indicated that the program increased learning of social behaviors. 49 of the 53 students involved in the practicum were able to master the skills on their first attempt. A post-test completed by mainstream teachers indicated that the 44 out of the 53 were using the behaviors outside the writer's classroom. A comparison of students serving detentions indicated that there was significantly fewer disciplinary referrals being written in the 1992-1993 school years as opposed to the 1989-1990 school years.