Classwide social skills training: Elementary school

The present study examined the effects of classwide social skills training (CSST) on children's social skills. In an experimental class and a control class, 75 fourth-grade children answered a self-report social skills scale and a self-report checklist on 5 target social skills. Their teachers rated the children on the same scales. The social skills scales consisted of 3 b ehavioral dimensions: aggression, prosocial skills, and withdrawal. In each class, 10 children who were defined as not having enough social skills com pared to the others in their class were the focus of classwide social skill s training. These children's scores on a re-test on the self-report scale d id not show any change. On the other hand, in the experimental class, the t eacher rated those 10 children as having improved on all 3 behavioral dimen sions. Both the skill of how to ask questions and the skill of refusing sho wed a significant change. In short, the effects of the classwide social ski lls training were found only in the teacher's ratings. Practical implicatio ns of the findings were discussed.