Incidental social skills training for pupils in a fourth grade classroom

The present study examined effects of social skills training conducted incidentally in a 4^th grade classroom on the pupils' peer relations. In order to assess effects of the training, the children (N =51) were asked to complete 5 scales before and after the training. The scales included self-reported social skills, self-efficacy, ratings of their teacher's teaching style (accepting, demanding), likeability nominations of peers, and a sentence completion test (SCT). The training focused on 3 target skills : saying warm words, listening in a positive way, and self-control. The results were as follows : The training was shown to be effective for increasing the number of likeability nominations from peers and the children's cognitive appraisal of their peers. The changes in the children's scores on self-reported social skills were maintained at follow up 2 months after the training. The children who rated their teacher's teaching style as low on accepting and middle on demanding had greater increases in the social skills scores than did the children who rated their teacher's style as high on both accepting and demanding.