Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
William Vales
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic process, administrators, aggression, anger management, appropriate behavior, assaults, behavior assessment, behavioral interventions, children, classroom environment, cognitive behavioral strategies, cuing, discipline referrals, disciplinary infractions, discussions, empathy, exercises, fourth-grade students, generalization, group lessons, inappropriate behavior, interpersonal skills, interviews, modeling, negative school climate, physical assaults, positive interactions, problem solving, prosocial behavior, questionnaires, redirection, rehearsal, roleplaying, school violations, social behavior, social situations, social skills, social skills groups, social skills program, student violence, students, teachers, verbal assaults, youth
Abstract
Teachers and administrators reported an increase in the number of school violations regarding verbal and physical assaults. This aggressive and inappropriate behavior created a negative school climate and detracted from the academic process, as teachers were spending more time redirecting students who were misbehaving rather than teaching.
A social skills program that focused on empathy, social problem solving, and anger management was developed and implemented with fourth-grade students to improve their prosocial behavior in the classroom environment. Using cognitive behavioral strategies such as modeling, roleplaying, and cuing and methods to assess their own behaviors during group lessons, discussions, and exercises, the students were exposed to appropriate behaviors that led to more positive interactions with others and the utilization of more appropriate problem solving strategies that are required in various social situations.
The implementation of the social skills groups helped to improve students’ anger management, problem solving, and interpersonal skills. Teacher questionnaires, interviews, and a review and analysis of the discipline referrals and disciplinary infractions, revealed that the majority of students improved in their social behavior. Four of the fourteen students continued to display inappropriate behaviors and warranted further intervention from outside agencies. While the generalization of this study is limited, the results reflect the research that children and youth can benefit from exposure and rehearsal of social skills.