Social Skills and Academic Skills Training for Rejected Boys

OVERVIEW

The social skills and academic skills training programs are designed to increase positive social interactions of socially isolated or rejected children.  Children were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: academic skills training, social skills training, both academic and social skills training, or a control group.  In the social skills training program, children received direct instruction on interaction techniques.  Instruction was followed up with role-playing situations in which the children demonstrated the interaction techniques in realistic settings.  A follow-up interview was conducted after the role-play to reinforce and review interaction techniques.  The academic skills training program consisted of twice weekly tutoring sessions and focused on development of math and reading skills.  The study outlined below found that social skills training was effective in increasing social preference ratings by peers as well as increasing scores on reading comprehension measures.  However, academic skills training was equally or more effective and had greater sustained impacts when compared with the Social Skills Training program.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Socially rejected, low-achieving populations of elementary school-aged children 

Social skills training consists of three main steps within each session.  First, a short description of possible interaction techniques is explained to the child, then a short play period follows, lastly, a short review of play session interaction ends the session.  Each session of Social Skills Training lasts approximately 30 minutes and is designed to be given once or twice weekly for a period of 4-6 weeks.  Academic skills training involves one-on-one tutoring sessions on math and reading which are 45 minutes each and occur twice weekly for 16 weeks.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Coie, J. D.  Krehbiel, G. (1984).  Effects of academic tutoring on the social status of low-achieving, socially rejected children.  Child Development, 14, 1465-1478.

Evaluated population: 40 fourth grade children from Durham, North Carolina public elementary schools.  These children were selected because they received low social preference scores from peers.  An additional criterion for selection in the study was a score below the 36^th percentile on the California Achievement Test (CAT).  The schools sampled were predominantly African-American, and students were from lower SES backgrounds.  All 40 students in the study were African-Americans.

Approach: Student selection was based on low social preference scores on a test of social rejection.  To qualify for the study, students also had to be below the 36^th percentile of the CAT.  Children who matched both criteria were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: academic skills training, social skills training, combined academic and social skills training, or a control group.  Children in the academic skills groups met with tutors for 45 minutes twice a week for 16 weeks.  Children in social skills groups met in groups with a social skills trainer weekly for 6 weeks.  Children in control groups received no additional training than what was provided to all students during class time.

To measure social skills, students were assessed on a peer-rating scale of social desirability.  To measure development of academic skills the students were assessed using the CAT.  Additionally, at one year after the conclusion of the interventions, students were again assessed using these measures.

Results: Students in all three intervention groups received higher social acceptance scores based on the peer rejection scales; but only students in the academic training programs improved past social rejection status.  While students in the academic skills treatment received higher scores than students in the social skills treatment, this may reflect the more intensive nature of the academic skills program.  Retesting of students after one year showed that all intervention groups performed better than control groups on reading comprehension tests.  Academic skills groups also retained gains in social preference scores compared with the control group.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Coie, J. D.  Krehbiel, G. (1984).  Effects of academic tutoring on the social status of low-achieving, socially rejected children.  Child Development, 14, 1465-1478.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 4^th grade / Program age ranges in the Guide: mid-childhood

Program components: mentoring/tutoring, school-based

Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development, social and emotional health and development, life skills; behavioral problems

Program information last updated 11/01/06

© Child Trends 2003