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The effectiveness of a district's social skills curriculum for students with disabilities

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The effectiveness of a district's social skills curriculum for students with disabilities

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Content Running head: A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 1

The Effectiveness of a District’s Social Skills Curriculum for Students with Disabilities
Conor Kelly
Dissertation Chair - Dr. Robert Keim
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education

December 2014

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 2

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone encouraged, supported, and questioned me through my
graduate and dissertation process. I particularly want to show my appreciation for my
dissertation committee members. I greatly appreciate Dr. Bob Keim for his willingness to chair
my committee and relieve my anxiety regarding findings, statistics, and the overall dissertation
journey. Additional thanks goes to Dr. Sean Early for providing guidance through the ANOVA
statistics, Dr. Dennis Hocevar for joining my committee at the needed time, and Dr. Patrick
Smith for his diplomatic work in the implementation of the project within the school district.
Thank you to my wife, Jameson Kelly, who handled the craziness and hours that are inherent
with a graduate program. Special gratitude toward the staff that brought this to life, helped in
continually encouraging me towards the end, and inspired me to remain motivated: Kerry
Landon, Suzee Myers, Cindy Blood, Liz King, Ben Uribes, and Chris Hunt. Finally, I would
like to thank all the teachers, students, parents, and staff that participated in the study. Hopefully,
through this work, significant progress can be made in the pursuit towards more equitable
education.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Abstract
Chapter 1: Introduction
Purpose of the Study
Background of the Problem
Research Questions
Significance of the Study
Methodology Overview
Limitations

Chapter 2: Literature Review
The Social Skills Construct
Definitions
Theoretical and Historical Perspectives of Social Competence
Social Skills Scales
Description of Effective Evaluations
Current Social Skills Evaluations
Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters
Social Skills Rating/Social Skill Improvement Scale
Recommendation for Proposed Instrument
Social Skills Curriculum Design
Essential Elements for Effective Learning Models
Research on Effective Social Skills Instruction
Social Skills Training
Current Curriculum Models

Chapter 3: Methodology
Research Questions
Sample and Population
Survey Tool
Instrumentation
Procedure and Data Collection
Social Skills Instruction
Data Analysis

Chapter 4: Results
Refinement of the Instrument
Data Analysis from Teacher Survey
Data Analysis from Parent Survey
Further Analysis

Chapter 5: Discussion
Data Analysis Limitations
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Running head: A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 4

Social Skills Theory and Limitations 74

Conclusion 77

References 78

Appendices 90

Appendix A: Eighty-one Question Survey 91

Appendix B: Forty-one Question Survey 95

Appendix C: Sample Lesson Plan Part I 97

Appendix D: Sample Lesson Plan Part II 101

Appendix E: Sample Lesson Plan Part III 103

Appendix F: Sample Lesson Plan Part IV 104

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 5

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify if researched based methods of learning could
be applied to social skill instruction for students with disabilities. The study developed an
instrument to measure social skill development. Four sub-components of the instrument were
identified in the analysis. The instrument was then utilized prior to and following the
implementation of a ten month social skill intervention program within a suburban school
district. A significant difference was identified in the comparison of means by both the parent
and school staff groups. Additionally, a significant difference in the means was identified
between the experimental and control groups following the intervention.
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 6

Chapter 1: Introduction
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to analyze whether social skills can be taught as a
curriculum in a classroom to students with disabilities including autism, emotional disturbance,
intellectual disability, and specific learning disorders. First, this study developed a reliable
survey to identify the components of the construct of social skills for a student and provide a
measure to gauge social skill abilities. Second, given the identified deficit components from the
survey, an effective curriculum was designed and implemented to instruct the student’s social
skill deficit area. Pre- and post- survey measures ascertained to determine learning of social
skills and compared to a control group matched according to disability, age, and gender.
Background of the Problem
While social skills apply to every individual, recently many evaluations and
measurements have been driven and designed particularly to target the significantly increasing
population of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and emotional
problem behaviors. Social deficits and impairments in this construct have been shown to be
related to multiple consequences including imprisonment, social isolation and withdrawal, school
dropouts, aggressive and antisocial incidents, and even loss of productivity and revenue in work
place settings (Greene, et al., 1999; Schumaker & Hazel, 1984). Additionally, the benefits of
positive social interactions have been correlated with measures of improved happiness, long-term
friendships, and improved family dynamics (Perry & Felce).
Therefore, the significance of appropriate social skills extends to various individuals,
settings, and situations other than just students of special needs. However, the construct of what
constitutes appropriate social interaction has been defined in the literature under many different
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 7

and often overlapping terms, including social skills, social intelligence, social cognition, and
social competence (Beauchamp & Anderson, 2010; Perry & Felce). Furthermore, the concept of
social interactions has created a plethora of additional constructs, skill subsets, and measurement
tools involving social communication, receptive indicators, and social cues (Laugeson, Frankel,
Gantman, Dillon, & Mogil, 2012; Laushey & Heflin, 2000). Finally, a vast discrepancy occurs
between the coordination of instrumentation results and instruction.
One of the earliest publications describing the assessment and measurement of a social
skill construct involved teaching shy individuals to develop appropriate eye contact and assertive
voice tones (Matson & Wilkins, 2009; McFall & Marston, 1970). Since this original study,
forty-eight social skill measurements have been developed and utilized to measure this construct
(Matson & Wilkins, 2009). However, these authors describe these numerous creations of social
skill instruments as a “Wild West mentality” (Matson & Wilkins, 2009, p. 269), not focused on
specific purposes such as particular contexts, demographics, or interventional techniques. This
proves detrimental to an educator’s role in providing instruction of these social deficits by not
providing a clear determination of which measurement to utilize as well as unguided direction to
approaching instruction given the results from the instrument. Therefore, in order to determine
effective instruction, reliable and valid evaluations need to be developed to identify baseline
measures and determine if growth and progress are occurring (Quinn, Kavale, Mathur,
Rutherford, & Forness, 1999; Schumaker & Hazel, 1984).
As with any course, individual’s prior knowledge in a subject area varies. Some students
enter the classroom with no familiarity and understanding of the curriculum while another
student may possess rudimentary to expert knowledge. Furthermore, motivation plays an
integral role in a student accessing and utilizing any prior knowledge. These ideas need to be
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taught, practiced, assessed, and performance feedback provided. Social skills fall under a similar
context. Many individuals may not grasp the complex use of sarcasm and irony in another
individual’s speech or even provide an adequate interchange of responding and listening during a
conversation. Therefore, dependent on the person’s abilities or deficits in a social area, a skill
may need to be completely taught or maybe just broadened to allow the person to function more
adeptly in certain settings. These social skill deficits become markedly evident of individuals
with autism spectrum disorder. In order to provide effective instruction for this population, a
measurement instrument needs to be developed that identifies deficit areas and links those
weaknesses to a particular intervention curriculum.
The necessity and rapid growth by school districts and clinics for social skill intervention
can be accredited to the substantial growth of autism. Autism is often described as a mental
condition that is characterized by a difficulty in communicating and building relationships with
other individuals. With the pervasive growth of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009; Croen, Grether, Hoogstrate, &
Selvin, 2002), the educational world becomes burdened with the responsibility of providing
adequate instruction for the deficits characterizing autism. Although the incident rate is still
questionable, typically cited as 1 in 88 of all individuals (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2009), there is unanimous consensus is that the rate is increasing. According to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association,
2000), individuals with ASD face impairments in social interactions involving expressive and
receptive difficulties and repetitive patterns of behaviors and interests. While the intensity of
this impairment varies along the spectrum, one essential component remains relevant for all
individuals diagnosed with autism – the ability of that individual to interact socially with others.
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Autism spectrum disorder can occur in a comorbid state with other disabilities including
intellectual disability, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disability. Many times an
individual with high functioning autism may academically perform on average or even above
average; therefore, these students often do not get identified according to traditional special
education processes and formalized psychological tests. Identification of these students can be
difficult due to traditional means of identifying student needs based upon severe behaviors or
failing grades. Approximately 4.7 of every 1000 students are diagnosed with autism and have an
intelligent quotient greater than 85 (Center for Disease Control, 2008). Therefore these students
often do not get identified according to traditional measurements and are instead attributed by
staff and peers as “quirky” or “strange”. Despite average to above average intelligence, similar
to all individuals with autism, students with high functioning autism and Asperger’s Disorder
lack the ability to adequately socialize with their peers, colleagues, and even family members.
While researched methods such as applied behavior analysis, direct instruction, and
discrete trial training are currently being implemented, further involvement by schools, in-home
agencies, and vocational settings is needed to address the social growth of these students. For
example, the district of interest in this study, Valley Unified School District, proposes in its
mission statement to prepare all students to become productive citizens armed with the ability to
act on the challenges of the 21
st
century. In order to stay proactive in providing an appropriate
education to every individual, the Valley Unified School District required the development of a
social skills program to address the needs of its students on the autism spectrum as well as other
students displaying deficits in social development. Therefore, an accurate assessment of
strengths and deficits and exceptional instruction within the social skill construct can provide a
foundation for instruction for students to become leaders in many fields including mental health,
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 10

education, and business. In order to improve and streamline this assessment and instructional
process, this study attempted to aide Valley Unified School District by answering several
research questions directly correlating with the measurement and instruction of social skills for
students with special needs.
Research Questions
1. Was there an improved difference in teacher perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
2. Was there an improved difference in parent perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
Significance of the Study
Results of the study may serve as a tool in determining whether a social skills curriculum
may improve the perception of teachers and parents regarding the social competence of a child
with disabilities. This change in perception may alter the adult’s own behavior with the student
and provide further opportunities and reinforcement for appropriate displays of positive social
interactions. Additionally, several studies have led to claims in the improvement of social skills
increases short term academic success, such as grades, test scores, and acceptance at school, as
well as long term life goals including prolonged friendships, vocational success, and cohesive
family life.
Methodology Overview
This will be a quantitative study conducted utilizing previous district data and
experimental and control group measures attained over a period of six months. A five point
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Likert scale screener developed to assess social skill competency will be utilized to determine
teacher and parent perception. The population will consist of special education students in
Valley Unified School District enrolled in a social skill class or receiving social skill instruction
through 30 minute counseling sessions one time a week. A control group of students with
similar disabilities, gender, and grade levels will be provided the screener as a comparison group
to account for variables including natural maturation of social skills over time and adult
perception of particular age group norms. The social skill screener will be presented one month
into to the instruction of the curriculum and again six months following the start of instruction.
Limitations
The sample will be limited by the number of students enrolled in the class, the
completion and return of screeners by classroom staff and parents, the demographic of students
participating in the program, and the timelines related to this study and the school year.
Additional factors including the attrition of students from the onset of the program to its
completion will limit the available sample size as well as prior data for students matriculating
into the program. Finally, the fidelity of instruction will vary throughout the district and all
components of the curriculum may not be implemented by all staff.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
The literature review will examine three areas associated with social skill development.
First, a theoretical perspective and definition of the social skill construct will be provided.
Second, an examination of social skill scales and measurements will be reviewed. Finally, the
literature on effective social skill instruction, curriculum, and design will be summarized.
The Social Skill Construct
Definitions
While few will argue humans require some level of social interaction, the foundational
pieces, definitions, and particulars of what constitutes the psychological construct of social skills
continues to be debated. Social interaction describes an umbrella in which many various
categories may fall including the concepts of social skills, social intelligence, social cognition,
and social competence (Beauchamp & Anderson, 2010; Perry & Felce). Each of these have also
created a multitude of measurements and descriptions of more social skill subsets, each with
their own variety of rating scales and questionnaires (Laugeson, Frankel, Gantman, Dillon, &
Mogil, 2012; Laushey & Heflin, 2000). Despite these multiple descriptions, the definitions in
the literature appear to create two distinct constructs: social competence and social skills
(Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010).
The first of these constructs, social competence, is established not by the individual
performing the behavior but from the external standard of those observing the behavior. Social
competence relies upon the evaluative judgment of outside observers. These individuals set the
social expectations for others adequately preforming a social task (McFall R. , 1982; Nangle,
Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010). In order to perceive the social competence of others,
one must possess several requisite skills including astute cognitive intelligence, interpretation of
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 13

emotional abilities, understanding of behavioral norms, and motivational/expectancy sets
(Dubois & Felner, 1996; Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010). These requisite
skills underlie the crux of the quadripartite model and are discussed further in a following
section.
The definition of “social skills” contains two important attributes involving the individual
emitting the behavior and the behavior of the recipient. Social skills require effective responding
in a particular social task through the use of a learned behavior to attain or maintain a particular
level of reinforcement for the individual within the social context (Nangle, Grover, Holleb,
Cassano, & Fales, 2010; Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010; Cavell, 1990; Gambrill &
Richey, 1986). Therefore, the individual emitting the behavior requires possession of social
competence in comprehending what are the expectations of others in the social context in order
to manipulate the situation to attain their own intended goal. For the purpose of this paper, the
construct of “social skills” will utilize Gresham, Sugai, and Horner’s (2001) definition: “the
ability of an individual to identify relevant contextual information in a specific interpersonal
interaction in order to attain a desired and important outcome or goal from that interaction for
that individual.”
Finally, the relevance of instruction and improvement in social competence and social
skills ultimately falls upon the concept of social validity. This pertains to the degree which the
interventions and skills targeted during treatment are relevant to the client’s social environment
(Kazdin, 1977; Schwartz & Baer, 1991). Additionally, social validity encompasses those skills
that are accepted by the client and are important to others and are likely to produce positive
outcomes and reinforcement in a social environment (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010).
Therefore, a social skill may be taught in isolation which increases an individual’s social
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competence or skill set, however, if it does not function to serve a purpose for that individual, the
skill is socially invalid and unnecessary to attain a goal or outcome for that individual.
Theoretical and historical perspectives of social competence
Throughout the past decades, the construct of social competence and social skills has
been repeatedly defined, refined, and redefined. These definitions have been guided primarily by
six models. The earliest models of social competence instruction stressed the specificity of the
situation, and the instruction focused on responses and interactions given the contextual role
(Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969; McFall R. , 1982). The formation of the instruction relied upon a
five step process to determine appropriate instruction. First, an analysis of the client’s response
to each situation was identified. Therapists and instructors utilized direct observations,
interviews, and surveys regarding the individual’s responses. From these situations, the therapist
then concocted various possible responses given the context. Often this was completed through
a trial-and-error process by directly observing others’ responses to the situation, role plays,
videotaped responses, or written responses to essays. From these varied replies, the clinicians
created “response evaluations” to measure the ideal response of the target individual in that
particular situation. The evaluations were created by individuals who were considered close to
the client with an overall consensus of the preferred response by the judges. The final stages
involve the development of the criterion measure and evaluation of the individual’s performance
in the situation (Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010).
With the expansion of behaviorism, social competence became defined through the
individual’s general responses to his or her environment. A greater emphasis was placed on the
consequences derived from the actual interaction rather than being based on the individual’s
personality and characteristics (Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969; Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano,
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& Fales, 2010). The programs expanded beyond specific situational contexts to broad, critical
social situations and problem-solving strategies and techniques for recurrent situations. This
methodology utilized a four step procedure to change the response of the target individual to
possible scenarios. First, a statement of the problem was clearly defined. Next, the creation of
probable responses was generated by clinicians. Given the possible responses, the team of
clinicians then chose the best “response”. As opposed to earlier models reliant upon the opinions
and personalities of family members and friends of the client, the behavioral model considered
the external consequences elicited from the alternative responses. The alternate response
required reinforcement from the environment in order to strengthen and maintain that response.
Finally, the expected behavioral response was implemented and the consequences observed.
Despite its origination in 1969, the model has been the most influential for the development of
social competence and development of cognitive problem-solving interventions.
With the onset of computer systems, Dodge (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Nangle, Grover,
Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010) developed a theory called the social information processing
model. This model again stressed the importance of the situational context to determine social
competence. The social information processing model hypothesized the cognitive processing of
an individual relied on the contextual situation to logically evaluate and choose the response to
enact. This processing occurred in a six step, non-linear process with various feedback loops
linking the social cognition and behavior. In the first stage, the individual observes and encodes
the external and internal cues during an interaction. The client then interprets these cues in
mental representations. Given the representations, the individual clearly identifies and clarifies
their goals and objectives in this situation. Following this analysis, the individual accesses their
long-term memory to construct varied responses to attain their given objective. From these
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 16

varied responses, the individual then determines the response that will attain that goal. Finally,
the response is implemented, and, if unsuccessful, a feedback loop is initiated and the process
repeated. In order to recode more successful responses, attribution retraining can be utilized by
instructors in which the student is provided direct verbal feedback correlating the newly chosen
response to the successful outcome (Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010; Schunk,
Pintrich, & Meece, 2008).
In order to simplify the social competence construct and increase its transference to
situations, Cavell (Cavell, 1990) developed the “Tri-component model”. This model adapts
previous theories into a single, hierarchical model and is predicated on two key assumptions.
First, the actual behavioral performance of social functioning requires examination as opposed to
solely the antecedents and consequences of that performance. Also, the assessment of successful
performance requires relevant, naturalistic social tasks, not merely contrived situations in a
therapeutic setting (Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010). In order to fully assess
social functioning, Cavell (Cavell, 1990) suggests a three-phase approach to this assessment.
Broadband measures are required to fully identify those in need of further assessment and
possible intervention. This creates an “average” response to contextual situations which can
identify the “who” outliers. Next, a situational analysis then determines those settings and
occasions, the “where” or “when”, in which inadequate social behavior is occurring. Finally, the
assessment focuses on determining “what” specific skill deficits are inherent for that individual
in the identified situation.
The Tri-component model defined social instruction in three subcomponents: social
adjustment, social performance, and social skills (Cavell, 1990). Social adjustment was defined
as the extent to which an individual achieves societally determined and developmentally
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appropriate goals in a given context. For example, the attainment of information from another
individual looks different when asking your health professional versus someone in your
occupational setting or a family member. Social performance measured an individual’s response
to socially valid criterion as determined from the average population. The third subcomponent,
social skills, targets the specific abilities allowing for the competent performance within social
tasks such as overt behaviors, social cognitive skills, and emotional regulation. Cavell
emphasizes that social skills, while necessary, are not sufficient determinants of effective social
performance.
The social competence prism model varies by incorporating a theoretical level known as
“effectiveness of interaction” (Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010; Rose-Krasner,
1997). This model, unlike social performance, specifically emphasizes that social competence is
situational and context dependent and relative to the specific goals of the individual and cannot
be broadly defined for the population. This model targets and assesses two levels to instruct and
determine interactional effectiveness. The “index/middle level” becomes measured by the
client’s specific social successes, quality of interactions and relationships, and social self-
efficacy. The individual’s frequency of goal attainment, friend quality, and social support
network become the measurements of success. The “skills level” becomes the specific abilities
and motivations underlying competence, such as communication, perspective taking, empathy,
self-regulation, and social problem-solving. The “skills level” relate directly to the client’s
specific goals and motivational values. Therefore, motivation becomes the limiting reagent for
enacting the particular skills to achieve the particular goal. If the goal is valued enough, the
individual will act to the extent necessary to attain that goal. Conversely, if the required
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behavior is too difficult for the individual, the goal may not be determined as important enough
to adjust, thus emitting an inappropriate behavior.
Finally, the Quadripartite model states that defining competence in task-specific terms is
too narrow for the generalization and applicability of those skills (Nangle, Grover, Holleb,
Cassano, & Fales, 2010). Instead, there are particular “superordinate” or core areas that are
essential to overall social competence skill development: cognitive skills and abilities,
behavioral skills, emotional competencies, and motivational and expectancy sets (Dubois &
Felner, 1996; Felner, Lease, & Phillips, 1990). The cognitive skills involve cultural and social
awareness and knowledge that allows an individual to effectively function in society. Besides
simply identifying cultural norms, this area requires the mental abilities to perceive and mimic
unfamiliar actions of other individuals. Much like the other models, the behavioral component
includes knowledge of a variety of behavioral responses as well as the ability to act upon a
particular response. The emotional competencies assist in facilitating socially appropriate
responses. This competency area allows the individual to regulate his or her affects and coping
capacities and interpret their success in attaining their intended outcome. Finally, the
motivational and expectancy sets involve the value structure, moral development, and sense of
efficacy and control.
Finally, with the expansive emergence and deeper understanding of the physiology of the
brain, neuroscience adds to the discussion of social skill development through the lens of the
brain’s anatomy. The developmental biopsychosocial model (SOCIAL) includes the socio-
cognitive elements, the environmental factors, and the biological aspects in the learning of social
competence (Beauchamp & Anderson, 2010).

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Social Skill Scales
Dependent upon the theoretical model chosen, the measurement of social competence and
social skills will vary. Evaluations on social skills may become dependent on observations by
clinicians in particular situations, rely on responses by the individual in general contexts, or be
interpreted through the emotional response and statements of the client. An examination of key
measurement issues related to social skills will provide clarity into the problematic issues related
to the evaluation of this construct. Focusing on the current instruments will assist in defining the
dissatisfaction of current scales, the propensity to utilize particular measures, and the potential
need for the generation of further evaluations. Additionally, the comparison of use for certain
demographics and intended population targeted by those evaluations will prove useful in
determining its effectiveness as a reliable tool for instruction.
Description of Effective Evaluations
In order to develop an effective instrument, several principles should be adhered to
regarding its design (Salkind, 2013). First, one must identify and define what the target construct
being measured includes. In this case, the construct of “social skills” as defined above will be
utilized for this present evaluation. Next, the level of measurement needs to be determined.
While some data allows for clear identification of numerical measures (e.g. temperature), the
vague, sometimes unobservable, factors related with many psychological constructs hinders the
assessor in utilizing particular levels of measurement. Therefore, evaluations that can be created
to increase from less nominal data to more ratio driven data will provide more informative
measurements of growth and regression. Choosing a sensible mode of collecting data on that
construct will greatly assist in evaluating two other essential principles to measurement design –
reliability and validity.
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After an appropriate level of data collection has been determined, the reliability of the
measure needs to be determined. Given a tool, one has to ensure that the instrument will
consistently measure the data of the target construct. In order to create stronger reliability,
several actions may be taken. First, standardization of the instructions for the instrument should
occur. This simply involves clarifying the directions of the evaluation to ensure that all
individuals understand and complete the measure similarly, essentially minimizing user error.
Next, the number of questions can be altered. A larger sample of questions provides a greater
probability you are selecting from the intended construct. Additionally, the increased pool of
questions allows the researcher to identify unclear items and remove those from the survey tool,
thereby, increasing the instrument’s reliability. However, additional considerations regarding the
length of the exam and strength of those questions still needs to analyzed. Finally, when
possible, the evaluator should be aware and avoid the effects of external events that may strongly
influence the response of the individual completing the instrument. For example, the influence
of particular occurrences may bias or fatigue the person completing the assessment and provide
inaccurate measures (Salkind, 2013).
The final principle to consider involves the validity of the measure – does the instrument
evaluate what it was designed to do? Validity can be determined through several types: content
validity, criterion validity, and construct validity. As with reliability, there are certain steps that
can be taken to ensure or increase validity. For example, the evaluator may need to take a
critical view of their instrument and determine whether one’s test is truly measuring its intended
purpose. Perhaps the definition of the construct needs to be re-defined or clarified in order to
better identify items on the evaluation that relate to that construct. Finally, a comparison of
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one’s tool to similar tests purportedly measuring that construct will allow the evaluator to check
for validity (Salkind, 2013).
Current Social Skill Evaluations
Within social skill evaluations, two primary measurement techniques have been utilized:
observations through role-play and questionnaires. The role-play measurements typically consist
of vignettes designed by the evaluators with the identification of discrete behaviors (Matson &
Wilkins, 2009). Scores are based upon the completion of checklists, rubrics, duration measures,
and various other data recording techniques with reliability measures being determined through
inter-observer agreement. Role-play scenarios provide the ability of clinicians to clearly identify
the maladaptive behaviors of the individual, develop appropriate treatment plans, and address
immediate concerns regarding that individual. However, the intensive involvement required of
observing and recording the behavioral interactions requires often two clinicians for each
individual. For this reason, this technique becomes more applicable to inpatient hospitalization
and infeasible in larger social settings such as schools and outpatient facilities. While these
evaluations often prove reliable and valid, the difficulties with role-play measures have limited
the proliferation of these tests with only eight types being tested and present in the literature
(Matson & Wilkins, 2009).
In regards to the applicability of social skills measurement for most environments,
questionnaires become more feasible. These forms allow for multiple individuals to assess the
same student or person, requires less time, and does not limit the evaluator to needing the
subject’s presence. Perhaps given the ease in the ability to disseminate questionnaires describes
the numerous evaluations in the literature. Matson and Wilkins (2009) list forty evaluations of
social skills found in the literature, identifying the two most frequently utilized instruments: the
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Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) and the Social Skills Rating
System/Social Skill Improvement Scale (SSRS/SSIS). Before proposing an alternative measure,
an examination of these two instruments will provide insight into their relative strengths and
shortcomings.
Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters
The MESSY was created in 1983 and involves questionnaires designed to assess social
skills in children ages 4-18. The original study measures were normed with a sample population
in southern Illinois. However, the MESSY was adapted and re-evaluated in 2010 to maintain
appropriate norms and re-assess the form’s reliability and validity in the present population
(Matson, et al., 2010) in nine different states within the United States. The assessment contains a
62 item form to be completed by the child and a 64 item form for the teacher and parent. The
items are scored on a 5 point Likert-type rating scale from 1 (“not at all”) to 5 (“very much”)
(Matson, et al., 2010). Each item focuses on discrete, observable behaviors (“Makes other
people laugh”) and deviates from vague traits (“Has a sense of humor”) (Perry & Felce, p. 19).
Additionally, the form varies the questions between positive and negative conceptions of the
child in order to avoid inappropriate responses from random marking or haste of the evaluator.
Overall, the form takes approximately 15 minutes to complete (Matson & Wilkins, Psychometric
testing methods for children's social skills, 2009; McFall & Marston, 1970). Scores are then
reported according to two scales: the Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness Scale and the
Appropriate Social Skills Scale. These scores are computed in a resulting T-score with higher
numbers representing poor social development (Matson, et al., 2010).
In regards to the performance of the MESSY, the assessment was normed utilizing 1,164
children and reported according to age and gender. The teacher form showed an internal test-
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retest reliability ranging from .6 to .8 and a Guttman split-half reliability of .87 (Matson, et al.,
2010). The factor validity, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the evaluation was
tested in two studies. These reports concluded positive correlations between teacher ratings,
popularity of the students in the classroom, and solutions of social conflicts created by the
subjects. Additionally, the results displayed negative correlations with psychopathology and the
Child Behavior Checklist, a measure assessing maladaptive behaviors (Matson, et al., 2010;
Matson & Wilkins, 2009).
Social Skill Rating Scale/Social Skill Improvement Scale
The SSRS was developed in 1990 to attain scores on the social behaviors of children
from ages 3-18 years. The normative data was completed from a national sample of
approximately 4,000 individuals and provides percentile rankings on separate norms according to
gender and students with and without disabilities (Perry & Felce). The scale was revised and
renamed to the SSIS in 2008, so the majority of the research literature utilizes and reflects scores
attained from the SSRS. The SSRS consisted of a 50 item questionnaire with two dimensions
provided to the teacher, student, and parent with an approximate completion time of 20-25
minutes. The dimensions involved frequency of a particular behavior and the importance of that
behavior in a setting. Each frequency item consists of a 3 point Likert-type scale involving a
rating of 0 (never true), 1 (sometimes true), and 2 (often true), while the importance dimension
for the teacher rating scale required a similar Likert-scale (0 = critical for success, 1= important
for success, and 2 = unimportant for success) (Elliot, Gresham, Freeman, & McCloskey, 1988).
More recently, the SSIS questionnaires were altered and items varied according to the age of the
child; however, the same overall item quantity was maintained at approximately 50 responses.
Additionally, the Likert-type rating was converted to a 4 point measure: not true, a little true, a
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lot true, and very true (Gresham, Elliot, Vance, & Cook, 2011; Haggerty, Elgin, & Woolley,
2011).
Several studies reference their decision to utilize the SSRS based upon the strong
reliability and validity measures identified in the manual (Haggerty, Elgin, & Woolley, 2011;
Laugeson, Frankel, Gantman, Dillon, & Mogil, 2012; Matson & Wilkins, 2009). In regards to
the teacher form, the four domains involving academic performance, social initiation,
cooperation, and peer reinforcement were examined. The frequency dimension displayed a high
internal consistency (r = .96), high test-retest reliability (r = .90), and moderate inter-rater
reliability (r = .65). Construct validity was conducted using the Revised Behavior Problem
Checklist (RBPC) and the Teacher Ratings of Academic Performance (TRAP) for each of the
four domains. Validity measures showed moderate to strong negative correlations on the RBPC
and mild to moderate correlations to the TRAP (Elliot, Gresham, Freeman, & McCloskey, 1988).
Much of the SSRS and SSIS strengths rely on their extensive use throughout the research
literature and the high internal consistency. The tests show good internal reliability and test-
retest reliability. However, the validity displays weaker measures. Criterion validity depicts
adequate measures and low to moderate correlations with other rating scales. Additionally,
convergent and discriminant validity displays adequate ratings (Haggerty, Elgin, & Woolley,
2011).
Recommendation for Proposed Instrument
In order to consider a particular measurement, the demographics of the target population
being evaluated needs to be considered as well as the instrument itself. Given the criterion for
autism spectrum disorder, the necessity for an evaluation method for social skill development is
necessary to determine progress and outcomes for interventions. Additionally, clear
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identification of skill strengths and weaknesses allow successful treatment plans to be written
and appropriate instruction to be targeted.
Both the MESSY and the SSRS/SSIS display adequate reliability and validity measures
and large sample sizes. These instruments both use comparative measures of social skills in a
normative population. The MESSY reports these scores as T-scores while the SSRS/SSIS
displays an individual’s results as a percentile score. Since both evaluations utilized normative
data, the interpretation of these scores facilitates easy identification of social skill deficits for a
child. Overall, this provides evidence for gains and improvements following interventions.
Unfortunately, the calculation of these scores requires entry of the data into a computer
program and provides the report as an overall score and the individual sub-domains. While this
proves useful for the identification of progress, educators cannot identify particular skills to
instruct and reinforce (e.g. targeting appropriate maintenance of conversation topics, empathy for
others, use of humor). Particular interventions may be utilized and progress noted through
consecutive testing; however, specific skill growth cannot be determined. Additionally, if
educators can identify particular deficits, the identification and targeted instruction towards those
deficits avoid extraneous lessons on previously mastered skills allowing for more efficient use of
instructional time. Furthermore, the identification of specific item deficits between teacher,
student, and parent evaluation forms can identify certain settings in which social skill success or
weaknesses are evident (e.g. interactions with adults only, difficulty in the classroom setting).
Finally, effective progress monitoring of interventions on a short term basis may be
necessary, such as reporting on benchmarks in Individualized Education Plans or report cards.
Both instruments do not require a significant amount of time to complete; however, the inability
to identify growth on particular skills still creates difficulty for instructors. Despite the
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feasibility of a questionnaire, individual progress may still require the use of role-play
assessment and individual observational techniques often difficult for teachers and clinicians in a
school setting. Therefore, the identification and creation of clearly delineated sub-domains needs
to be created and designed into a brief form.
As the rate of autism spectrum disorder and emotional disabilities increases, successful
monitoring of social skill development needs to be maintained by clinicians and teachers at the
school level. The use of current evaluations is useful to determine current levels and progress
after an extended period of time. However, the creation of an instrument to measure more
immediate growth in particular social skill domains is necessary. Further research and
development into reliable and valid measures of brief forms for specific skills needs to continue
with particular attention on how those instruments will provide guidance to teachers and
clinicians to efficiently provide instruction to students with special needs.
Social Skill Curriculum Design
After determining deficit areas from observations and/or questionnaire measures,
instruction in skill areas needs to occur. Social skill instruction has occurred in several formats
including in traditional lectures, therapeutic “talk sessions”, or cognitive behavioral therapy.
Despite the chosen forma, strict adherence to researched learning models needs to occur in order
to provide the most effective methodology of instruction. A review of the research on learning
and current models of instruction will provide the foundation for creating an effective curriculum
for social skill instruction.
Essential elements for effective learning models
In order to address the objectives of a curriculum, an instructor must ensure that all the
elements of learning are present to meet that goal. This involves the learner to change in what he
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or she knows through the experience of that instruction (Mayer, 2011). In order to create this
change, several concepts of effective learning and deficits are identified and proven across
subject areas (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010). Knowledge deficits
involve four types and, after being identified, should be used to develop objectives to directly
instruct in these deficits: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Sheridan, et al.,
2011). Regarding the provision of instruction, the purpose of the instruction needs to be
identified (e.g. recalling information, generating new information, implementing that instruction)
and targeted by the lesson to address the particular deficit area (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).
After determining the objective, the instructor can use a framework for learning and
teaching outlined by Anderson & Krathwohl (2001). First, the objective is broken down into two
identifications: the noun and the verb. The verb is utilized to identify the cognitive process
dimension necessary to learn the objective. The cognitive process dimensions include
remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating with each dimension
subsuming completion of the previous dimensions. Using the noun, a knowledge dimension is
identified as factual, conceptual, procedural, or metacognitive. However, unlike the verb, the
knowledge dimensions do not imply the learning occurred in any of the other dimensions. After
obtaining the cognitive process and the knowledge dimensions, specific learning activities can be
created to address the learning objective and provide a solution to the gap in performance. These
learning activities have been utilized in a myriad of research studies identifying specific
solutions to address problem areas.
After establishing one’s objectives, to increase effective instructional methods, the
theories of operant conditioning and social learning, particularly in naturalistic settings, should
be implemented (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). Simple elements including positive
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reinforcement, corrective instruction, observational learning, and modeling display significant
gains and can be easily implemented inside and outside an academic setting. However, theory
and practice of social skill instruction do not always overlap. Often targeted behaviors and
components are loosely based upon the theoretical and comprehensive models of social
competence and social skills (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2002; Frey, Nolen,
Van Schoiack-Edstrom, & Hirschstein, 2005; Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010).
Unclear objectives and weak curriculum may contribute to a student’s inability to learn the
necessary material; therefore, an examination of the outcomes from that material should be
monitored to ensure the curriculum’s effectiveness.
For this reason, the lack of fidelity in the implementation of the curriculum creates an
additional variable that muddles the actual effectiveness of that curriculum. In order to ascertain
the material’s effectiveness, one of the variables involves an instructor’s addition or detraction of
information from structured curriculum (Ringwalt, et al., 2010). Many factors influence the
willingness of teachers to provide certain components of instruction. These may include
personal viewpoints in organizational support (Ransford, Greenberg, Domitrovich, Small, &
Jacobson, 2009), the utility of some aspects to the students or society (Tummers, 2011), or
simply the element of time (Ringwalt, et al., 2010). To measure effective outcomes, controlled
monitoring and adjustment of independent variables needs to be manipulated by the researcher,
not by the whims of instructors; therefore, the effectiveness of a curriculum as measured through
its outcomes becomes dependent on the fidelity of its implementation.
Finally, the ultimate measure of an effective curriculum involves the ability of the
individual to generalize or transfer the skill outside the academic setting. Generalization and
transference refers to the occurrence of newly acquired skills in settings or situations different
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from those in which the skill was originally learned (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010).
This becomes essential for effective social skill instruction due to the fact that the obvious
objective for intervention is to improve the student’s ability to function in social settings and
gain positive reinforcement from a natural, social context (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen,
2010).
Research on Effective Social Skill Instruction
When social skill deficits do occur, three focus areas typically become the identified
culprits. First, an examination of skill acquisition should be ascertained. This involves
examining whether a particular skill has actually been learned (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen,
2010; Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, Interpreting outcomes of social skills training for students with
high-incidence disabilities, 2001) and utilizing effective evaluation methods in the areas of
reaction, learning, behavior, and results (Kirkpatrick, 2006). For example, a student is expected
to independently and effectively avoid adult and peer conflicts in a school setting, yet his home
environment entails an abusive parent and a neighborhood expectation to argue and fight those
disagreeing with him. Therefore, this student’s primary knowledge base does not include the
skills of ignoring, asking for help, or accepting criticism, skills central to the foundation of
typical classroom rules and expectations. Thus, the student becomes accountable for information
he has never learned or observed. For this reason, effective instruction is necessary for the
individual and will be discussed further later in this paper.
The second deficit area involves skill performance. In this instance, the individual knows
the skill; however, the skill is only demonstrated under specific conditions (Smith, Jordan, Flood,
& Hansen, 2010). This deficit area primarily relates to motivation. An examination of
motivational deficits may include active choice, mental persistence, or mental effort. Clark
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(2005) outlines three aspects which influence the motivation of individuals to complete a task or
process. The first of these three areas involves active choice in which the person determines
whether the task is worth starting or whether competing activities are more important to engage
their time on. The second aspect involves persistence on the task or activity. In this case, the
assignment has been started but the question becomes whether the individual chooses to continue
working on that task or quit. Finally, mental effort determines the amount of new knowledge
necessary to complete a task or process. If the effort needed to gain the understanding to finish a
project surpasses the individual’s willingness to pursue that knowledge, a motivational issue
involving mental effort is evident.
After determining the cause of the absence or decline in motivational behavior, five
variables can be contributed to those results: values, self and group efficacy, internal
attributions, mood, and goals (Clark, 2005). The value factor pertains to the importance one puts
on the task or assignment. This sense of importance may be derived from the utilitarian
perception of the given task or the user’s interest in that assignment. The self and group efficacy
involves the perceptions of the individual(s) in whether they will have success or failure at the
given task. In regards to group situations, the dynamics of the team and their ability to
effectively collaborate contribute to one’s personal confidence in completing that assignment.
For internal attributions, this involves one’s beliefs about attributing particular outcomes to their
ability to control external forces. When new and unexpected situations arise, often with negative
effects, an individual’s motivation may decrease due to their perception of hopelessness and
inability to complete the task. Similarly, one’s mood drives their ability to initiate or continue a
given assignment. The emotional state of an individual, such as depression or mania, may
influence their performance on the given activity. Finally, the variable involving goals drives
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one’s motivational behavior, creating environments in which one’s knowledge and experience of
similar situations create feelings such as frustration, confidence, or ennui. For example, those
who possess mastery of the necessary skills will need to exert less mental effort on the task and
influence their drive to complete the activity.
The final social skill deficit involves the situational characteristics. This area focuses on
the concept that particular settings, individuals, or other contextual cues are not conductive to the
production of that skill for a particular person (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). In order
to address the area of transference, several areas of research have been investigated and are
included in the following section.
Social Skill Training
While many individuals develop appropriate social skills, several individuals require a
continuum of training. Social skill training originates as a therapeutic intervention based on the
application of behavioral and social learning theory and techniques (Smith, Jordan, Flood, &
Hansen, 2010). In order to provide effective instruction, social skills, much like any academic
field, requires elements and evidence-based practices for effective learning (Wang & Spillane,
2009; Kaminski, Valle, Filene, & Boyle, 2008; Lundahl, Risser, & Lovejoy, 2006; Merrill, 2002;
Penuel, 2007; Taubman, Leaf, & McEachin, 2011). As stated previously, appropriate instruction
begins with an effective assessment of skill deficits and strengths. Additionally, this assessment
provides valuable information that can be utilized by instructors to monitor progress and
determine mastery of a skill.
The next element of core training components involves the introduction of the skill. This
area encompasses several subsets with its provision. First, the objective or goal of the lesson
needs to be clearly defined to the students and the measurement at which that goal is considered
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achieved (Pintrich, 2000). This allows for instructors to provide critical reinforcement or
corrective feedback associated with learning (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). Next, the
students’ motivation needs to be activated. As mentioned previously, active choice entails
someone choosing to participate in an activity (Clark & Estes, 2008; Renninger, 2009). For
other any subject areas, this element engages the students into wanting to learn about a particular
topic and become motivated (Ames, 1992; Comas, Hoch, Paone, & El-Roy, 2000; Hidi &
Renninger, 2009; Murphy & Alexander, 2000).
Following this, the particular skill needs to be broken down into its behavioral
components and operationally defined. Extensive research has been completed on the
effectiveness of breaking tasks into successive steps (Clark R. E., Feldon, van Merrienboer,
Yates, & Early, 2008; Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, Why minimal guidance during instruction
does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based,
experiential, and inquiry-based teaching, 2006) and teaching those steps through the elements of
direct instruction (Kohler & Fowler, 1985). By reducing the elements into a task analysis of
clearly observable steps, this process can effectively minimize the cognitive load of an individual
by providing concrete procedures. Etiological and antecedent cues prompt for the initiation of
steps in a particular skill as opposed to the individual attempting to identify all visual, aural, and
contextual clues to their surrounding environment (Kirschner, Ayres, & Chandler, Contemporary
cognitive load theory research: The good, the bad and the ugly, 2011).
In order to concretize the necessity of each step, the provision of rationales or reasons
should be provided in order to increase intrinsic motivation for these steps (Bourke & Van
Hasselt, 2001). This will assist during the generalization of the skill by transitioning from
external rewards (e.g. receipt of verbal praise by the instructor, points earned, completion of
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assignments) to intrinsic motivation in which the client will naturally seek out opportunities to
successfully utilize the skill (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999; Eisenberger & Cameron, 1996; van
der Oord, Bogels, & Peijnenburg, 2012).
In order for learners to effectively comprehend the procedural steps, working models for
the instructional material may be provided. In the case of social skills, these working models
typically involve the display of that social skill by peers and other relevant individuals in a
student’s environment (Laugeson, Frankel, Gantman, Dillon, & Mogil, 2012; Karaarslan &
Sungur, 2011; Majer, 2009; Joet, Usher, & Bressoux, 2011). Social learning theory emphasizes
the development of learning skills and behaviors through observation of others (Bandura, 1977).
Modeling provides the individual learner the opportunity to observe the appropriate production
of the target behavior as well as the potential positive outcomes associated with the behaviors
effective use (Bandura, 1977; Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010; Kazdin, 1977).
Furthermore, the effects from observational learning become more salient and transfer to a
greater degree when the model presented possesses actual or even perceived similarities to the
targeted individual (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). However, utilizing other
individuals as models creates difficulties such as finding appropriate models, creating
instructional groups with perceived similarities, particularly in therapeutic sessions, and breaches
of confidentiality for clients (Hughes & Chen, 2011).
In order to address these difficulties, the use of video modeling has proven to be an
effective methodology. In this case, the student or client watches another individual with similar
demographics display the appropriate behavior (Bellini & Akullian, 2007; Smith, Jordan, Flood,
& Hansen, 2010). Video modeling and video monitoring have recently provided avenues in
which social learning theory and rehearsal combine to provide feedback to clients developing
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 34

social skills (Wang & Spillane, 2009) either through new learning or increased perception of
self-efficacy (Bandura, Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning, 1993).
Video modeling entails the student or client watching a film of another individual completing or
demonstrating a task or skill (LeBlanc, et al., 2003; Boyer, Miltenberger, Batsche, & Fogel,
2009). Several studies have revealed students developing aspects of academic and social skill
development, such as social imitation and reciprocal play by observing models displayed on a
television (Nikopoulos & Keenan, 2004; LeBlanc, et al., 2003), textual responding (Marcus &
Wilder, 2009), and social communication (Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001).
Insight-oriented psychotherapies proved ineffective in providing learning of social
interactions. Additionally, social learning theory addresses acquisition and learning of skills in
the context of individuals attending to the observation area. Therefore, behavioral interventions
through active participation become essential avenues in learning (Smith, Jordan, Flood, &
Hansen, 2010). Active role and rehearsal has been shown to facilitate skill retention and
improve performance by providing information through performance feedback and additional
demonstration of skills by modeling (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010).
Rehearsal and demonstration of target behaviors can occur through three types: verbal
covert, and overt (Ladd & Mize, 1983). Verbal rehearsal involves practicing only the verbal
components of the targeted behavior very similar to direct instruction and echoic responding.
Covert practice entails reinforcement following the display of the target behavior, typically
through social validation (Ladd & Mize, 1983; Minkin, et al., 1976). The therapist or instructor
places the student in a situation where the target may need to be utilized. Overt practice involves
performing a skill through role-plays, semi-structured practice, and unstructured practice (Elliott
& Gresham, 1993; Ladd & Mize, 1983). Role-plays typically involve structured scripts or
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 35

settings with the target client acting out the desired target behavior with another individual,
usually the instructor or therapist. However, feedback is necessary for the client and may come
in the form of direct instruction from the instructor or self-monitoring of the skill’s steps
included or deficit (Plavnick, Ferreri, & Maupin, 2010). Semi-structured practice entails less
detail than role plays and requires the target subject to simply “react” to the partner. The partner
is provided general information which should draw out and elicit the target behavior from the
student. Finally, unstructured practice involves the student using the target behavior and
responding to naturalistic situations with others who have received little to no instruction.
As mentioned with any curriculum area, and specifically social skill instruction, the
ability to transfer the skill outside of the academic classroom becomes essential. Successful
generalization has increased through several principles and techniques (Osnes & Lieblein, 2003;
Bolton & Mayer, 2008). First, simply providing instruction in groups provides additional
stimulus responses and exemplars as well as the opportunity to practice situations that closely
resemble the client’s natural group of peers and common interactive group (Hansen, 1998;
(Sharpe, Brown, & Crider, 1995). By utilizing situations similar to a student’s natural setting,
the student may begin to recognize changes in oneself, revise their behavior, and create new
rationales and beliefs for particular social interactions (Pugh, Transformative experience: An
integrative construct in the spirit of Deweyan pragmatism, 2011; Pugh, Linnenbrink-Garcia,
Koskey, Stewart, & Manzey, 2010)Secondly, practice with a particular skill and situation similar
to the classroom may occur; however, these may be located in different settings or individuals to
provide opportunities use that skill in a new condition. Also, the use of cognitive restricting may
occur through positive self-talk as well as self-monitoring, particularly of successes, through the
use of video and homework assignments.
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Finally, in conjunction with self-monitoring, behavioral research and principles
emphasize the importance of performance feedback through reinforcement and punishment.
This particularly allows newly learned behaviors and skills to become more readily engrained
when they are reinforced consistently, immediately, and specifically identify the behavior being
given feedback (Kazdin, 1977; Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). Additionally, this
information needs to be provided in comparison to a standard versus subjectively given from the
observer’s opinion (Elliott & Gresham, 1993; Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010).
Current Curriculum Models
Several curriculum models currently exist for social skills instruction; however, several
of these models lack key elements to effective curriculum instruction, such as, clearly defined
objectives, assessment measures, or researched based methods. Three predominant models
include the Second Step program, Skill Streaming, and Social Skills for Success (Matson &
Wilkins, Psychometric testing methods for children's social skills, 2009; Schreiber, 2011).
The first of these models, the Second Step program, is based on the social information
processing model (Lemerise & Arsenio, 2000). This program is administered by classroom
teachers and is expected to be incorporated into the regular academic courses. It particularly
focuses on three components: empathy training, impulse control and problem solving, and anger
management.
Social Skills for Success has its philosophical roots in a nomothetic approach to target
skill identification. It merely possesses four training sessions: initiating conversations,
maintaining conversations and establishing friendships, listening and remembering, and
assertiveness. The method of instruction involves a five part process in which the skill concept
is first introduced, rationales are generated regarding the skill, facilitated group discussions are
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led, skill demonstration is completed through role plays, and finally positive and corrective
feedback is provided on the skill demonstration.
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Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter discusses how the quantitative study will be conducted to determine the
teacher and parent perception of social skill development by the students with disabilities
enrolled in the social skill program. Additionally, information regarding the experimental and
control groups, survey tools, data collection, and analysis are extrapolated and provided.
Research Questions
1. Was there an improved difference in teacher perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
2. Was there an improved difference in parent perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
Demographic Data
This study was conducted in a suburban public school district. At the time of the study,
Valley Unified School District was an ethnically diverse public school district and encompassed
147 square miles and served six communities. The population of this area was approximately
150,000 people with an approximate enrollment of 21,170 students. The ethnic breakdown of
the district included 0.7% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 7.3% Asian, 0.5% Pacific
Islander, 2.8% Filipino, 35.5% Hispanic, 7.6% African-American, 40.8% Caucasian, and 4.8 %
of multiple ethnicities. The district serviced approximately 2,140 English language learners.
Additionally, approximately 54% of the students’ families qualified as economically
disadvantaged. Within the district, approximately 9.8% of the students were identified as an
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individual with special needs and an individualized education plan (IEP) was implemented to
address those needs.
The district contained 16 elementary schools serving students from kindergarten through
fifth grade. There were four middle schools serving students from sixth to eighth grade. Finally,
the district oversaw three comprehensive high schools for students in ninth to twelfth grade and
one alternative high school for students completing independent study, home education, online
learning, and credit recovery programs. Of the 24 comprehensive schools, 13 were Title I sites.
Survey Tool
This quantitative study was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. A survey was developed for this project to measure teacher and
parent perception of a student’s social skills. This survey is referred to as the Social Skill
Screener (Appendix I) and was provided to district staff and parents for the past three years. The
data was recorded in excel and provided to this researcher by the district.
Instrumentation
In order to create a quantitative measurement of social skill learning, the Social Skill
Screener was developed by the district. Questions and relevant areas were identified from other
social skill measurement tools, interviews with classroom staff and parents, and the literature of
targeted behavior for students with disabilities related to social competence and interactions.
The Social Skill Screener consisted of 81 questions. Each question involved a 5-point Likert
scale from Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, and Always. A principal component analysis was
conducted from 324 returned screeners. Screeners with missing data were excluded from the
analysis with a total of 163 available forms for analysis. An examination of the Scree Plot
(Figure 1) indicated approximately four components within the 81 questions. Using a rotated
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component matrix (Figure 2), 29 questions were eliminated from the screener due to either low
correlation or similar correlation across multiple components. The analysis was conducted again
still indicating four components (Figure 4). From the newly generated rotated component
matrix, an additional 9 questions were removed that cross loaded across components with a value
equal to or less than 0.06. A Cronbach’s Alpha was conducted on the total screener and each
component. The screener as a whole had an alpha score of .967. The first component consisted
of 10 questions measured skills associated with Self-management skills (n = 302 , α = .916). The
second component was labeled as Interpersonal skills (n = 195 , α = .924). The third component
measured Communication skills (n = 305 , α = .919). The final component measured Initiating
Social Engagement (n = 302 , α = .821). The 42 questions were then condensed into a form and
referred to as the Social Skill Screener – Revised.
Procedure / Data Collection
Data was collected in the following manner. First, a thorough review of the literature was
conducted in order to develop the psychological construct related to social skills. Key construct
areas and questions were developed utilizing the literature. Next, this information was then
utilized to create the Social Skill Screener. Data analysis was conducted to ensure the instrument
measured as reliable and revised accordingly. In order to conduct a quantitative comparison to
measure the effectiveness of the social skill curriculum, students from two groups were selected.
The first group consisted of students identified for participation in the social skills course by
school counselors, administrators, teachers, or parents who identified these students as
individuals possessing social deficits. Demographic information of the students was attained and
included disability categories, age, grade, ethnicity, and gender. Using this demographic
information, a comparable control group was selected using district databases. From August 14,
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2013 to December 19
th
, 2013, the experimental group participated in social skill instruction.
Instruction occurred in two formats dependent upon the student’s Individualized Education Plan
or by the determination of the student’s site team consisting of the homeroom teacher,
administration, parents/guardians, and a member of the project team.
The two model types included specialized academic instruction and designated
instructional service. Specialized academic instruction was provided for students on a daily basis
through the instruction of a special education teacher and at least one paraprofessional aide.
Additional instructors included speech therapists, school psychologists or school psychology
interns, social work interns, or behavior analyst interns. The student group consisted of small
group instruction, typically four to twelve individuals. Instruction occurred daily according to
the elective instructional minutes outlined by the district school board and state department of
education.
Table 1
Grade Level and Corresponding Social Skill Instructional Minutes per Week
Grade Level Number of Minutes per Week
K-3 105
4-6 175
7-8 250
9-12 250

Designated instructional service was provided for students according to the IEP team’s
determination with the range of instruction typically consisting between one to three days a week
and the instructional time between 30 to 90 minutes a week. This instruction was provided
through a “pull-out model” in which the student will leave their peers and participated in
instruction with a special education teacher, speech therapist, school psychologist, school
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psychology intern, social work intern, or behavior analyst intern. The student was provided 1:1
instruction or small group instruction consisting of two to eight individuals. The second group
consisted of a comparison group selected by identifying each social skill enrollee’s disability,
gender, and grade and selecting an individual with similar demographics not enrolled in the
social skill class.
Data collection entailed coding the gathered information into SPSS. First, each student in
the experimental and control groups were identified using a unique, randomized number to
maintain anonymity and confidentiality. Second, demographic information was entered for each
student and included the following areas: disability category, age, grade, ethnicity, and gender.
Next, the pre-survey data was collected from the experimental and control groups during the first
week of September from the caregiver and a school staff familiar with a student. This provided
district staff approximately three weeks to become familiar with their students and allow for
valid reporting. Each survey response was recorded into SPSS. During the study, three weeks of
instruction were observed by the researcher for each instructor in order to attempt to maintain
fidelity of the instruction. In the last two weeks of the study, post-surveys will be provided again
to parents and instructors to assess any growth in social skill development. These results will be
coded into SPSS and the data analyzed to answer the research questions.
Social Skill Instruction
In order to implement effective instruction of social skills, a curriculum was developed
utilizing the techniques outlined in the literature review. These techniques included seven areas
of instruction: clearly written objectives, motivational activation through a “hook”, task analysis
of the skill, provision of rationales, working models of the skill, rehearsal, generalization practice
at the school site as well as at home, and performance feedback throughout all stages.
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 43

Data Analysis
Quantitative data analysis consisted of a test for significance from pre- and post- paired
sample T-test results from administration of the Social Skill Screener-Revised. Significance
levels were set at 0.05 for both tests. SPSS 17.0 was used to analyze the data.

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 44

Chapter 4: Results
The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of a social skills
curriculum designed from educational research for effective learning can show a significant
change in the teacher and parent perception of the social competence of students with disabilities
enrolled in an intervention social skill program. The research questions for this study include:
1. Was there an improved difference in teacher perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
2. Was there an improved difference in parent perception of students with special needs
including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific learning
disability who participated in a social skill class?
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 was used to analyze
the data gathered during the study. Several analytic steps were utilized throughout the study.
First, using survey data gathered by the district, a principal component analysis was conducted in
order to ascertain the number of components being measured by the survey as well as
eliminating unnecessary questions. Next, utilizing that input, a paired t-test was conducted to
answer research questions 1 and 2. Finally, in order to minimize the potential variables, a
control and experimental group were randomly selected and an independent t-test was conducted
comparing the differences in the overall mean as well as each component. A description of the
data analysis is provided.
Refinement of the Instrument
During the first implementation year of the social skills program, the district developed
an 81 question survey. Each question was measured on a 5 point Likert scale with 1 = Never, 2
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 45

= Rarely, 3 = Sometimes,4 = Often, and 5 = Always. This survey was provided to parents and
school staff of students enrolled in the social skill program as well as some of the students
themselves in an attempt to determine the deficit areas of the students from several individuals’
perspectives. A total of 324 surveys were returned by parents, school staff, and students and
inputted into a Microsoft Excel document.
Besides the Likert scale, basic demographic information was attained for the surveys and
inputted into the database. This information included who completed the questionnaire, the age
of the student, gender, and the disability of the child. Each individual inputted was given a
unique code by the district. The descriptive statistics for each of the demographics utilized in the
principal component analysis are as follows. There were surveys completed for 261 males
(80.6%) and 63 females (19.4%). The individuals identified who completed the survey included
teachers (40.1%), mothers (26.2%), fathers (3.7%), group home staff (1.9%), self (12.0%),
grandparent (2.2%), administrator (0.6%), brother (0.6%), girlfriend (0.3%), parent (4.6%), aunt
(0.6%), classroom aide (6.2%), speech therapist (0.6%), and not identified (0.3%). The age of
the students ranged from 4.9 to 19.6 years of age. The disability of the students included
intellectual disability (3.4%), speech and language impairment (8.0%), emotional disturbance
(25.9%), specific learning disability (28.7%), autism (22.2%), other health impairment (6.8%),
and not identified (4.9%).
Each of the 81 questions from the 324 surveys was exported to SPSS. The purpose of the
principal component analysis was to minimize the number of questions in the survey, identify the
components from the survey, and determine the reliability of the survey. Four components were
extracted and a rotated matrix was utilized to identify items that loaded poorly in the four areas
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 46

or cross-loaded within .200 of two or more components. This resulted in 52 remaining
questions. The results of the PCA are shown in the tables below.
Table 2
The Communalities or Proportion of Variance Explained by Each Question

Question Extraction Question Extraction Question Extraction
1 .426 28 .316 55 .654
2 .562 29 .325 56 .603
3 .507 30 .632 57 .646
4 .581 31 .550 58 .616
5 .648 32 .687 59 .418
6 .598 33 .609 60 .494
7 .566 34 .447 61 .467
8 .658 35 .435 62 .364
9 .559 36 .432 63 .418
10 .628 37 .502 64 .629
11 .456 38 .599 65 .602
12 .664 39 .546 66 .537
13 .563 40 .566 67 .634
14 .678 41 .646 68 .555
15 .573 42 .479 69 .599
16 .624 43 .453 70 .649
17 .632 44 .639 71 .601
18 .504 45 .557 72 .587
19 .542 46 .646 73 .470
20 .527 47 .535 74 .517
21 .409 48 .667 75 .522
22 .320 49 .470 76 .611
23 .528 50 .432 77 .664
24 .514 51 .567 78 .567
25 .656 52 .527 79 .571
26 .529 53 .499 80 .533
27 .507 54 .578 81 .566

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 47

Table 3
The Total Variance Explained after the Elimination of Questions with Low Extraction Values
Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared
Loadings
Rotation Sums of Squared
Loadings
Total % of
Variance
Cumulative
%
Total % of
Variance
Cumulative
%
Total % of
Variance
Cumulative
%
1 19.989 38.44 38.44 19.989 38.44 38.44 9.842 18.926 18.926
2 4.665 8.97 47.41 4.665 8.97 47.41 8.382 16.12 35.046
3 3.162 6.081 53.491 3.162 6.081 53.491 7.22 13.885 48.931
4 1.888 3.632 57.122 1.888 3.632 57.122 4.259 8.191 57.122
5 1.502 2.888 60.01
6 1.4 2.693 62.703
7 1.213 2.333 65.036
8 1.179 2.267 67.303
9 1.133 2.178 69.481
10 1.102 2.119 71.6
11 0.894 1.719 73.319
12 0.853 1.64 74.959
13 0.814 1.565 76.524
14 0.803 1.545 78.069
15 0.73 1.404 79.473
16 0.633 1.218 80.691
17 0.616 1.185 81.876
18 0.59 1.135 83.011
19 0.586 1.128 84.139
20 0.552 1.061 85.2
21 0.504 0.969 86.169
22 0.49 0.942 87.111
23 0.469 0.902 88.013
24 0.45 0.865 88.878
25 0.418 0.805 89.683
26 0.371 0.713 90.396
27 0.365 0.703 91.098
28 0.358 0.689 91.788
29 0.331 0.636 92.424
30 0.325 0.625 93.049
31 0.287 0.551 93.6
32 0.282 0.543 94.143
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 48

33 0.267 0.513 94.656
34 0.245 0.47 95.127
35 0.239 0.459 95.586
36 0.224 0.431 96.017
37 0.207 0.398 96.415
38 0.195 0.375 96.79
39 0.187 0.359 97.149
40 0.168 0.324 97.473
41 0.161 0.31 97.783
42 0.15 0.288 98.07
43 0.14 0.269 98.34
44 0.132 0.253 98.593
45 0.128 0.245 98.838
46 0.117 0.224 99.063
47 0.108 0.207 99.27
48 0.094 0.18 99.45
49 0.082 0.157 99.607
50 0.078 0.149 99.756
51 0.067 0.129 99.885
52 0.06 0.115 100

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 49

Table 4
Scree Plot Graphing the Eigenvalues Against the Component Numbers

Table 5
Varimax with Kaiser Normalizaiton Rotated in 7 Iterations Showing Four Components
Component Component
Question 1 2 3 4 Question 1 2 3 4
32 0.783 0.208 49 0.639 0.315
78 0.762 37 0.616 0.252 0.309
71 0.760 65 0.453 0.579
76 0.730 0.221 64 0.268 0.558 0.351 0.321
80 0.723 0.257 36 0.551 0.241 0.341
58 0.701 0.322 17 0.543 0.485
52 0.690 0.302 39 0.538 0.346 0.295
68 0.677 0.226 0.215 11 0.264 0.692
72 0.669 0.303 16 0.282 0.689 0.271
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 50

79 0.662 0.270 0.243 12 0.368 0.215 0.684 0.220
47 0.656 0.275 10 0.366 0.214 0.667
73 0.649 0.259 14 0.291 0.289 0.655 0.311
51 0.646 0.337 0.233 15 0.251 0.654 0.249
81 0.595 0.313 0.309 -0.226 9 0.338 0.207 0.629
77 0.546 0.482 0.203 1 0.603
34 0.540 0.329 2 0.233 0.340 0.595 0.222
35 0.524 0.218 0.333 3 0.246 0.286 0.587 0.235
62 0.494 0.271 0.215 13 0.332 0.203 0.580 0.270
48 0.327 0.714 0.257 19 0.425 0.448 0.354
46 0.218 0.713 0.245 7 0.386 0.654
45 0.700 6 0.373 0.650
66 0.682 0.232 61 0.306 0.629
44 0.343 0.661 0.212 4 0.380 0.618
56 0.319 0.659 0.276 24 0.369 0.299 0.523
55 0.401 0.646 0.209 33 0.395 0.325 0.508
70 0.326 0.640 0.265 41 0.423 0.358 0.446

Following the results of the PCA, Cronabach’s alpha was conducted to identify the
reliability of the revised 52 question survey as well as each component. The entire survey
produced reliable results (n = 163 , α = .967). Of the 52 questions, eleven questions were
eliminated in order to shorten the survey. These questions were identified by the difference in
the magnitude between the variance explained over two components with the smaller differences
being eliminated. Through this method, the survey was decreased to 41 questions. Reliability
statistics were conducted for each component with the following results. The first component
consisted of 10 questions measuring skills which appeared to be associated with “Self-
management” skills (n = 302 , α = .916). The second component was labeled as “Interpersonal”
skills (n = 195 , α = .924). The third component was identified as “Communication” skills (n =
305 , α = .919). The final component was labeled as “Initiating Social Engagement” (n = 302 , α
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 51

= .821). The 42 questions were then condensed into a similar form as the original survey and
referred to as the Social Skill Screener – Revised.
Table 6
Reliability of the Social Skill Screener – Revised and Each Component
Cases Cronbach’s Alpha Number of Items
52 Question Valid
Excluded
Total
163
161
324
.967 52
Component 1 Valid
Excluded
Total
302
22
324
.916 10
Component 2 Valid
Excluded
Total
195
129
324
.924 14
Component 3 Valid
Excluded
Total
305
19
324
.919 11
Component 4 Valid
Excluded
Total
302
22
324
.821 6

Table 7
Item Statistics for Each Question in Component 1
Question Mean Std.
Deviation
N Scale
Mean
if Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
68 3.08 1.01 302 30.87 39.79 0.69 0.91
71 3.65 0.84 302 30.31 41.72 0.66 0.91
72 3.47 0.93 302 30.48 41.16 0.64 0.91
73 3.71 0.90 302 30.25 41.44 0.63 0.91
76 3.36 0.93 302 30.59 39.70 0.77 0.90
77 2.83 1.01 302 31.12 39.94 0.67 0.91
78 3.64 0.87 302 30.32 41.08 0.69 0.91
79 3.31 0.96 302 30.65 40.20 0.70 0.91
80 3.61 0.90 302 30.35 40.23 0.75 0.90
81 3.29 0.97 302 30.66 39.97 0.71 0.91
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 52

Table 8
Item Statistics for Each Question in Component 2
Mean Std.
Deviation
N Scale
Mean
if Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
36 3.35 1.19 195 39.06 107.02 0.62 0.92
37 3.29 1.22 195 39.11 106.11 0.64 0.92
39 3.39 1.15 195 39.02 108.66 0.57 0.92
44 2.98 1.09 195 39.43 105.85 0.74 0.92
45 2.67 1.20 195 39.74 106.60 0.63 0.92
46 2.76 1.25 195 39.65 104.73 0.68 0.92
48 2.79 1.15 195 39.61 105.36 0.72 0.92
49 3.26 1.10 195 39.14 108.38 0.61 0.92
55 3.01 1.00 195 39.4 108.13 0.70 0.92
56 3.17 1.03 195 39.24 107.38 0.71 0.92
64 3.18 1.01 195 39.23 108.35 0.68 0.92
65 2.88 0.99 195 39.52 108.90 0.67 0.92
66 2.7 1.09 195 39.71 108.42 0.62 0.92
70 2.98 1.16 195 39.43 107.37 0.62 0.92

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 53

Table 9
Item Statistics for Each Question in Component 3
Mean Std.
Deviation
N Scale
Mean
if Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
1 3.5 0.893 305 32.77 47.747 0.615 0.915
2 3.37 0.891 305 32.9 47.198 0.665 0.913
3 3.37 0.875 305 32.9 47.57 0.646 0.914
9 3.29 0.963 305 32.99 46.139 0.693 0.912
10 3.32 0.937 305 32.95 46.54 0.681 0.912
11 3.12 1.001 305 33.15 46.502 0.632 0.915
12 3.24 0.955 305 33.03 45.773 0.731 0.91
13 3.47 0.774 305 32.8 48.407 0.662 0.913
14 3.29 0.881 305 32.99 46.626 0.725 0.91
15 3.1 0.941 305 33.17 45.997 0.725 0.91
16 3.22 0.936 305 33.05 45.896 0.738 0.909

Table 10
Item Statistics for Each Question in Component 4
Mean Std.
Deviation
N Scale
Mean
if Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
4 3.76 1.06 302 17.72 12.93 0.65 0.78
6 3.88 0.99 302 17.6 13.24 0.66 0.78
7 3.98 0.89 302 17.5 14.25 0.59 0.79
24 2.9 1.09 302 18.58 13.39 0.55 0.80
33 3.05 1.09 302 18.43 13.03 0.61 0.79
61 3.91 0.86 302 17.57 15.10 0.48 0.81

Comparison of Pre- and Post-Intervention

At the start of the second year of the district’s social skill intervention program, the
Social Skill Survey – Revised was provided to school staff and parents. Following the
completion of the school year, the post intervention survey was provided. The data was
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 54

collected into two databases: surveys completed by school staff and surveys completed by home
individuals. These databases were utilized in answering the research questions for this study.
Data Analysis from the Teacher Survey
Research Question 1: Was there an improved difference in teacher perception of students with
special needs including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific
learning disability who participated in a social skill class?
In order to assess a change in school staff perception, surveys collected prior to the
implementation of the social skills were compared to surveys collected after the implementation
of the program. Only surveys that were completed for a particular student by the same
individual were selected and compared and resulted in a sample size of n = 57. A paired t-test
was conducted to determine if a significant change in the mean occurred with the overall survey
as well as each individual component at the p = 0.05 level.
Demographic information included the gender of the student, the disability, and the
grade. Gender was divided into two categories: male (n = 40) and female (n = 17). There were
six unique disabilities identified: intellectual disability (n = 4), speech or language impairment
(n = 7), emotional disturbance (n = 8), other health impairment (n = 4), specific learning
disability (n = 25), and autism (n = 9). The ages were approximated into four categories: lower
elementary (4- 7 years) (n = 3), upper elementary (8-10 years) (n = 13), middle school (11-13
years) (n = 18), and high school ages (14-20 years) (n = 23).
Using the sample, a paired samples t-test was conducted to determine if there was a
overall difference in the mean scores on the social skill surveys prior to and following the
intervention as well as for each component. A significant difference in mean scores were shown
for the overall survey, (M = 0.161, SD = 0.449), t(56) = 2.712, p = 0.009. For Component 1, no
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 55

significant difference in the means were identified, (M = 0.125, SD = 0.565), t(56) = 1.667, p =
0.101. For Component 2, significance difference was determined, (M = 0.193, SD = 0.573),
t(56) = 2.547, p = 0.014. For Component 3, no significant difference was found between the
means, (M = 0.150, SD = 0.627), t(56) = 1.802, p = 0.077. For Component 4, a significant
difference was identified between the means, (M = 0.267, SD = 0.583), t(56) = 3.460, p = 0.001.
Table 11
Descriptive Statistics for the Social Skill Survey and Each Component
Pair Component Intervention Stage Mean N Std.
Deviation
Std. Error
Mean
Pair 1 All
Questions
Pre-intervention
School
3.10 57 0.69 0.01
Post-intervention
School
3.26 57 0.59 0.08
Pair 2 1 Pre-intervention
School
3.43 57 0.77 0.10
Post-intervention
School
3.56 57 0.74 0.10
Pair 3 2 Pre-intervention
School
2.63 57 0.84 0.11
Post-intervention
School
2.82 57 0.75 0.10
Pair 4 3 Pre-intervention
School
3.19 57 0.86 0.11
Post-intervention
School
3.34 57 0.74 0.10
Pair 5 4 Pre-intervention
School
3.36 57 0.85 0.11
Post-intervention
School
3.63 57 0.73 0.10

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 56

Table 12
Paired Sample t-test Depicting the Mean Difference Between Pre-Intervention School Survey
Data From Post-Intervention School Survey Data
Component N Correlation Sig. Mean SD Std.
Error
Mean
95%
CI
Lower
95%
CI
Upper
t df Sig. (2-
tailed)
All 57 0.76 0 0.16 0.45 0.06 0.04 0.28 2.71 56 0.01
1 57 0.72 0 0.12 0.56 0.07 -0.03 0.24 1.67 56 0.10
2 57 0.75 0 0.19 0.57 0.08 0.04 0.35 2.55 56 0.01
3 57 0.70 0 0.15 0.63 0.08 -0.02 0.32 1.80 56 0.08
4 57 0.74 0 0.27 0.58 0.08 0.11 0.42 3.46 56 0.00

A general linear model - univariate ANOVA was conducted to compare between subject
effects in the areas of gender, grade category, and disability for the means of the social skill
survey completed by school personnel prior to and following the intervention program. Five
comparisons were conducted and included the total mean scores for the social skill survey and
each of the four individual components. The descriptive statistics for the total mean for each
demographic group are included in Table 13. Levene’s test of equality of error variances was
conducted and indicated that there was no significant difference across groups with the following
results: F(22, 34) = .888, p = .609. The between subjects univariate ANOVA was conducted to
compare the effect on survey scores on gender, disability, and grade classification. There was
not a significant difference between the scores in gender [F(1,56) = 0.37, p = .55], disability
[F(5,52) = .70, p = .62], or grade [F(3,54) = .46, p = .71] (Table 14).

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 57

Table 13
Descriptive Statistics for the Demographics Utilized in the Univariate General Linear Model
Gender Disability Grade Mean Std. Deviation N
Male Speech or Language
Impairment
K-2 .183559 .5653669 2
3-5 .073171 . 1
6-8 -.081015 .5924373 3
Total .032874 .4706488 6
Emotional Disturbance 3-5 .945946 . 1
6-8 .072233 .3091105 2
9-12 .279963 .3360439 3
Total .321716 .4100676 6
Other Health Impairment 9-12 -.389634 .2768064 2
Total -.389634 .2768064 2
Specific Learning Disability 3-5 .209162 .2445329 5
6-8 .351999 .3517537 3
9-12 .090132 .4769965 9
Total .171353 .3930068 17
Autism 3-5 .073552 .4478702 2
6-8 .485662 .8149222 3
9-12 .248937 .6287293 4
Total .288871 .6051827 9
Total K-2 .183559 .5653669 2
3-5 .245781 .3580902 9
6-8 .219491 .5433847 11
9-12 .103753 .4835271 18
Total .171528 .4649403 40
Females Intellectual Disability 3-5 .394512 . 1
6-8 .394205 .3102180 3
Total .394282 .2532920 4
Speech or Language
Impairment
6-8 -.104268 . 1
Total -.104268 . 1
Emotional Disturbance K-2 .216216 . 1
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 58

6-8 -.879974 . 1
Total -.331879 .7751238 2
Other Health Impairment 3-5 .834897 . 1
6-8 -.121951 . 1
Total .356473 .6765937 2
Specific Learning Disability 3-5 .045824 .1337911 2
6-8 -.102564 . 1
9-12 .162683 .3938247 5
Total .100312 .3173188 8
Total K-2 .216216 . 1
3-5 .330264 .3823150 4
6-8 -.003735 .4948372 7
9-12 .162683 .3938247 5
Total .136738 .4202447 17
Total Intellectual Disability 3-5 .394512 . 1
6-8 .394205 .3102180 3
Total .394282 .2532920 4
Speech or Language
Impairment
K-2 .183559 .5653669 2
3-5 .073171 . 1
6-8 -.086829 .4838627 4
Total .013282 .4327572 7
Emotional Disturbance K-2 .216216 . 1
3-5 .945946 . 1
6-8 -.245170 .5916142 3
9-12 .279963 .3360439 3
Total .158318 .5454192 8
Other Health Impairment 3-5 .834897 . 1
6-8 -.121951 . 1
9-12 -.389634 .2768064 2
Total -.016581 .6030689 4
Specific Learning Disability 3-5 .162494 .2218101 7
6-8 .238358 .3662568 4
9-12 .116043 .4347869 14
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 59

Total .148620 .3653516 25
Autism 3-5 .073552 .4478702 2
6-8 .485662 .8149222 3
9-12 .248937 .6287293 4
Total .288871 .6051827 9
Total K-2 .194444 .4002192 3
3-5 .271776 .3516732 13
6-8 .132681 .5221569 18
9-12 .116564 .4576895 23
Total .161152 .4486236 57

Table 14
Tests of Between Subject Effects on Survey Scores for Gender, Disability, and Grade

Source Type III Sum
of Squares
df Mean Square F Sig. Noncent.
Parameter
Observed
Power
b

Corrected
Model
1.009
a
9 .112 .513 .857 4.620 .220
Intercept .935 1 .935 4.285 .044 4.285 .527
Gender .080 1 .080 .365 .549 .365 .091
Disability .767 5 .153 .703 .624 3.514 .232
Grade .299 3 .100 .457 .714 1.370 .135
Error 10.262 47 .218

Total 12.751 57

Corrected Total 11.271 56

Data Analysis from the Parent Survey
Research Question 2: Was there an improved difference in parent perception of students with
special needs including autism, emotional disturbance, mild intellectual disability, and specific
learning disability who participated in a social skill class?
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 60

In order to assess a change in parent and guardian perception, surveys collected prior to
the implementation of the social skills were compared to surveys collected after the
implementation of the program. Only surveys that were completed for a particular student by the
same individual were selected and compared and resulted in a sample size of n = 34. A paired t-
test was conducted to determine if a significant change in the mean occurred with the overall
survey as well as each individual component at the p = 0.05 level.
Demographic information included the gender of the student, the disability, and the
grade. Gender was divided into two categories: male (n = 27) and female (n = 7). There were
five unique disabilities identified: speech or language impairment (n = 4), emotional disturbance
(n = 8), other health impairment (n = 6), specific learning disability (n = 10), and autism (n = 6).
Again, the ages were approximated into four categories: lower elementary (4- 7 years) (n = 3),
upper elementary (8-10 years) (n = 10), middle school (11-13 years) (n = 15), and high school
ages (14-20 years) (n = 6).
Significance was found in mean scores for the overall survey, (M = 0.188, SD = 0.536),
t(33) = 2.042, p = 0.049. For Component 1, no significant difference in the means were
identified, (M = 0.184, SD = 0.626), t(33) = 1.708, p = 0.097. For Component 2, no significant
difference was determined, (M = 0.122, SD = 0.736), t(33) = 0.963, p = 0.343. For Component
3, a significant difference was found between the means, (M = 0.314, SD = 0.607), t(56) = 3.011,
p = 0.005. For Component 4, no significant difference was identified between the means, (M =
0.117, SD = 0.635), t(33) = 3.460, p = 0.292.

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 61

Table 15
Paired Sample Statistics for the Social Skill Survey and Each Component
Component Intervention Stage Mean N Std.
Deviation
Std. Error
Mean
All
Questions
Pre-intervention
Home
3.15 34 0.56 0.10
Post-intervention
Home
3.34 34 0.63 0.11
1 Pre-intervention
Home
3.38 34 0.66 0.11
Post-intervention
Home
3.57 34 0.80 0.14
2 Pre-intervention
Home
2.85 34 0.67 0.11
Post-intervention
Home
2.97 34 0.71 0.12
3 Pre-intervention
Home
3.10 34 0.64 0.11
Post-intervention
Home
3.41 34 0.77 0.13
4 Pre-intervention
Home
3.57 34 0.63 0.11
Post-intervention
Home
3.69 34 0.72 0.12

Table 16
Paired Sample t-test Depicting the Mean Difference Between Pre-Intervention Home Survey
Data From Post-Intervention Home Survey Data
Component N Correlation Sig. Mean SD Std.
Error
Mean
95%
CI
Lower
95%
CI
Upper
t df Sig. (2-
tailed)
All 34 0.603 0.00 0.19 0.54 0.09 0.00 0.37 2.04 33 0.05
1 34 0.647 0.00 0.18 0.63 0.11 -0.04 0.40 1.71 33 0.10
2 34 0.426 0.01 0.12 0.74 0.13 -0.14 0.38 0.96 33 0.34
3 34 0.643 0.00 0.31 0.61 0.10 0.10 0.53 3.01 33 0.01
4 34 0.566 0.00 0.12 0.63 0.11 -0.10 0.34 1.07 33 0.29
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 62

A general linear model - univariate ANOVA was conducted to compare between subject
effects in the areas of gender, grade category, and disability for the means of the social skill
survey completed by school personnel prior to and following the intervention program. Five
comparisons were conducted and included the total mean scores for the social skill survey and
each of the four individual components. The descriptive statistics for the total mean for each
demographic group are included in Table 17. Levene’s test of equality of error variances was
conducted and indicated that there was no significant difference across groups with the following
results: F(21, 12) = 1.81, p = .15. The between subjects univariate ANOVA was conducted to
compare the effect on survey scores on gender, disability, and grade classification. There was
not a significant difference between the scores in gender [F(1,33) = 4.11, p = .053], disability
[F(4,30) = .28, p = .889], or grade [F(3,31) = 1.29, p = .299] (Table 18).
Table 17
Descriptive Statistics for the Demographics Utilized in the Univariate General Linear Model
Gender Disability Grade Mean Std.
Deviation
N
Male Speech or Language Impairment K-3-5 .454545 . 1
3-5 .909091 . 1
6-8 -.090909 . 1
Total .424242 .5006882 3
Emotional Disturbance 3-5 .909091 .1285649 2
6-8 .181818 .3149183 3
9-12 -.227273 .0642824 2
Total .272727 .5088744 7
Other Health Impairment K-3-5 1.318182 . 1
3-5 .272727 . 1
6-8 .440909 .1478496 2
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Total .618182 .4809884 4
Specific Learning Disability K-3-5 .000000 . 1
3-5 .545455 .2571297 2
6-8 -.484848 .6188054 3
9-12 -.181818 . 1
Total -.077922 .5948090 7
Autism 3-5 .212121 .1388659 3
6-8 -.045455 .4499770 2
9-12 .636364 . 1
Total .196970 .3323677 6
Total K-3-5 .590909 .6695873 3
3-5 .525253 .3394751 9
6-8 -.019008 .4888924 11
9-12 .000000 .4264014 4
Total .232997 .5122725 27
Female Speech or Language Impairment 6-8 .545455 . 1
Total .545455 . 1
Emotional Disturbance 6-8 1.090909 . 1
Total 1.090909 . 1
Other Health Impairment 3-5 -.181818 . 1
6-8 .463636 . 1
Total .140909 .4564053 2
Specific Learning Disability 6-8 2.181818 . 1
9-12 .136364 .8356717 2
Total .818182 1.3205308 3
Total 3-5 -.181818 . 1
6-8 1.070455 .7914966 4
9-12 .136364 .8356717 2
Total .624675 .8660209 7
Total Speech or Language Impairment K-3-5 .454545 . 1
3-5 .909091 . 1
6-8 .227273 .4499770 2
Total .454545 .4132782 4
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 64

Emotional Disturbance 3-5 .909091 .1285649 2
6-8 .409091 .5222330 4
9-12 -.227273 .0642824 2
Total .375000 .5528450 8
Other Health Impairment K-3-5 1.318182 . 1
3-5 .045455 .3214122 2
6-8 .448485 .1053657 3
Total .459091 .4911363 6
Specific Learning Disability K-3-5 .000000 . 1
3-5 .545455 .2571297 2
6-8 .181818 1.4258534 4
9-12 .030303 .6188054 3
Total .190909 .9004131 10
Autism 3-5 .212121 .1388659 3
6-8 -.045455 .4499770 2
9-12 .636364 . 1
Total .196970 .3323677 6
Total K-3-5 .590909 .6695873 3
3-5 .454545 .3904272 10
6-8 .271515 .7440823 15
9-12 .045455 .5037053 6
Total .313636 .6074224 34

Table 18
Tests of Between Subject Effects on Survey Scores for Gender, Disability, and Grade
Source Type III Sum
of Squares
df Mean
Square
F Sig. Noncent.
Parameter
Observed
Power
b

Corrected
Model
2.761
a
8 .345 .916 .519 7.331 .329
Intercept 4.280 1 4.280 11.366 .002 11.366 .900
Gender 1.549 1 1.549 4.114 .053 4.114 .496
Disability .419 4 .105 .278 .889 1.113 .101
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Grade 1.460 3 .487 1.292 .299 3.876 .302
Error 9.415 25 .377

Total 15.520 34

Corrected Total 12.176 33

Further Analysis of the Social Skill Intervention
Survey data was used for students who had received the social skills intervention and
significance was calculated by comparing the means of pre- and post- social skill intervention of
students enrolled in the class. However, in order to determine if this significance was due to the
intervention or other variables such as maturity or learning from grade level social interactions, a
control group was selected for the third year of the research project. Students enrolled in the
social skill class were paired with students with similar disabilities, gender, and grade not
enrolled in the intervention program. If a comparable control student did not exist, the
experimental student was dropped from the study. A Social Skill Survey – Revised was sent to
each of the parents and school staff for the remaining 86 students for a total of 172 surveys. A
total of 85 pre-intervention surveys were returned for the experimental sample. Students were
dropped from the study if both the experimental and their equivalent control pair did not have a
completed survey from the same setting (school or home). Approximately, six months later,
post-intervention surveys were sent to 23 pairs who completed the pre-intervention survey.
Further students were dropped from the study if the post-intervention survey or their equivalent
pair did not complete the survey.
Following the final receipt of post-intervention surveys, 8 pairs of students remained.
Seven of the pairs were male and one pair of students was females. Of these 8 pairs, school staff
completed 5 of the surveys and home completed 3 of these surveys. Four pairs of students
qualified for special education services under the disability of autism, one pair for autism and a
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secondary of speech and language impairment, one pair for emotional disturbance, another for
other health impairment, and the other for specific learning disability and a secondary of other
health impairment.
First, an independent samples t-test was calculated to determine if there was a significant
difference initially found between the experimental and control group. No significance between
the overall means or component means for the two groups were identified prior to the
intervention. Following the implementation of the intervention and assuming equal variances, a
difference in the means was found at the significant level of p = 0.05 for the overall mean
between the pre-intervention and post –intervention for the two groups, t(14) = 2.53, p = 0.02.
Additionally, a difference in the means between the two groups were found in Component 1at
the significant level, t(14) = 2.89, p = 0.01. Component 2, Component 3, and Component 4 did
not show a significant difference at the 0.05 level (Table 21).
Table 19
Descriptive Statistics for the Social Skill Survey and Each Component for the Experimental
Group
Component Intervention
Stage
Mean N Std.
Deviation
Std.
Error
Mean
All Questions Pre-intervention 3.12 8 0.71 0.25
Post-intervention 3.60 8 0.71 0.25
1 Pre-intervention 3.25 8 0.89 0.32
Post-intervention 3.78 8 0.87 0.31
2 Pre-intervention 2.80 8 0.79 0.28
Post-intervention 3.38 8 0.77 0.27
3 Pre-intervention 3.26 8 0.78 0.28
Post-intervention 3.53 8 0.77 0.27
4 Pre-intervention 3.29 8 0.77 0.27
Post-intervention 3.85 8 0.58 0.21

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Table 20
Descriptive Statistics for the Social Skill Survey and Each Component for the Control Group
Component Intervention
Stage
Mean N Std.
Deviation
Std.
Error
Mean
All Questions Pre-intervention 3.19 8 0.83 0.29
Post-intervention 3.13 8 0.50 0.18
1 Pre-intervention 3.64 8 0.76 0.27
Post-intervention 3.48 8 0.46 0.16
2 Pre-intervention 2.52 8 1.12 0.40
Post-intervention 2.65 8 0.64 0.23
3 Pre-intervention 3.35 8 0.86 0.30
Post-intervention 3.22 8 0.43 0.15
4 Pre-intervention 3.42 8 1.05 0.37
Post-intervention 3.38 8 0.76 0.27

Table 21
Independent Samples Statistics for the Social Skill Survey and Each Component Comparing the
Experimental Group to the Control Group Post-Intervention
Levene’s
Test for
Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
Comp. F Sig. t df Sig. Mean
Diff.
Std.
Error
Diff.
Lower Upper Power
Analysis
All Equal
variances
assumed
0.37 0.55 2.53 14 0.02 0.54 0.21 0.08 1.00
Equal
variances
not assumed
2.53 13.38 0.03 0.54 0.21 0.08 1.01
1 Equal
variances
assumed
1.72 0.21 2.89 14 0.01 0.69 0.24 0.18 1.20
Equal
variances
not assumed
2.89 11.96 0.01 0.69 0.24 0.17 1.20
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2 Equal
variances
assumed
0.00 1.00 1.41 14 0.18 0.32 0.32 -0.24 1.14 1.00
Equal
variances
not assumed
1.41 13.68 0.18 0.32 0.32 -0.24 1.14 0.18
3 Equal
variances
assumed
4.00 0.07 2.10 14 0.06 0.19 0.19 -0.01 0.82 1.00
Equal
variances
not assumed
2.10 8.70 0.07 0.19 0.19 -0.03 0.85 0.11
4 Equal
variances
assumed
1.31 0.27 1.88 14 0.08 0.32 0.32 -0.09 1.30 1.00
Equal
variances
not assumed
1.88 12.28 0.09 0.32 0.32 -0.10 1.30 0.08

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Chapter 5: Discussion
The purpose of this study was to determine if the parents and school staff’s perceptions of
a student’s social behaviors improved following the implementation of a social skills program.
Three data analyses were conducted to investigate these hypotheses. An instrument to measure
social competence was developed. Next, a sample of surveys completed by parents and school
staff of students participating in the program was compared pre- and post- intervention. Finally,
an experimental and control group were identified and a comparison between groups was
completed. The data from these investigations assisted in determining that the developed social
skills curriculum was an effective tool in changing the behaviors of students enrolled in the
intervention program according to adult perceptions.
The first part of the study involved the development of an instrument for measuring
social competence. Questions and areas of concern for the survey were selected by talking with
school staff, parents, reviewing previous social skill instruments, or identified from the literature.
Initially, an 81 question social skills survey was created (See Appendix A). Using a principal
component analysis, the 41 question Social Skill Survey – Revised was developed and 4
component areas were identified and labeled as “Self-management skills”, “Interpersonal skills”,
“Communication skills”, and “Initiation of social engagement skills”. This instrument was
checked for reliability and then utilized in the subsequent collection of data and analysis.
The second portion of the study consisted of examining the difference in means on the
Social Skill Survey – Revised as completed by parents and staff of students who received the
social skill intervention. After approximately a month in which the staff could become familiar
with the students, the survey was completed by parents and teachers. The intervention then
consisted of elementary students participating in social skill instructions for 105 minutes per
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 70

week, and students in grades 6-12 received 250 minutes of instruction per week for an entire
school year. A particular social skill was taught on average for five days as a unit with each
lesson in the units consisting of different activities designed from researched methods of
instruction. Each skill unit contained nine elements for effective instruction. These included a
clear objective for the lesson, activation of motivation, task analysis of steps, rationales, working
models, guided and independent practice, reinforcement and error correction, generalization
opportunities, and ongoing, consistent assessment and positive or corrective feedback for every
activity. Each unit was directly related to 1-2 skill areas questioned on the survey. Following
the completion of the intervention, parents and teachers again completed the survey.
An analysis of the data involved examining the difference in the overall mean scores as
well as each component from the pre- and post- surveys for parents and school staff. A
difference at the significant level was identified for the overall mean for both the parent and staff
surveys. A significant difference in the mean scores was also identified for the staff survey in
the areas of “Interpersonal skills” and “Initiation of social engagement”. The parent surveys
revealed a difference in the means at the significant level for “Communication skills”.
Additionally, a univariate general linear model was completed to identify if there was a
difference in means for the variables of gender, disability, and grade. No difference in means
was identified across these variables.
Finally, in an attempt to control additional variables such as natural maturation, a control
and experimental group were selected. Each student enrolled in the social skill program was
identified by disability, gender, and grade level and paired with a similar student not enrolled in
the social skill program. If a comparable control student did not exist, the experimental student
was dropped from the study. Students were further dropped from the study if both the
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experimental and their equivalent control pair did not have a completed survey from the same
setting (school or home). Further students were dropped from the study if the post-intervention
survey or their equivalent pair did not complete the survey.
Following the final receipt of post-intervention surveys, 8 pairs of students remained.
Seven of the pairs were male and one pair of students was females. Of these 8 pairs, school staff
completed 5 of the surveys and home completed 3 of these surveys. Four pairs of students
qualified for special education services under the disability of autism, one pair for autism and a
secondary of speech and language impairment, one pair for emotional disturbance, another for
other health impairment, and the other for specific learning disability and a secondary of other
health impairment. While the sample size was small, the difference in means between the two
groups was calculated. The experimental group showed an improvement at the 0.05 significant
level for the overall mean as well as the area “Self-management”.
In the following sections, the research questions and results are presented and discussed.
Additionally, the implications from the study’s findings are considered and recommendations for
future research are provided.
Data Analysis Limitations
School staff responses from the social skill survey provided prior to the implementation
of a social skill intervention was compared to the responses following the program. A
comparison of the means of the students who participated in the social skill program showed a
significant difference in the overall survey as well as “Interpersonal skills” and “Initiation of
social engagement”. The results indicate that social skill instruction in these areas may be
effective in increasing the skills of those students to a noticeable degree for school staff.
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 72

In regards to the other two areas, “Communication skills” and “Self-management skills”,
several factors need to be considered in the analysis of the program’s effectiveness. First, the
significance level for the study was set at 0.05. While the probability of rejecting the null
hypothesis for these two components did not meet or exceed the “significant level”, the
probability remained low at p = 0.10 for “Communication skills” and p = 0.08 for “Self-
management skills”. This indicates that the program may still be effective in changing the social
behaviors of students. Using a power analysis, an effect size may be found if the sample size
was increased from 57 to 173. Additionally, the parent surveys only indicated a significant
difference for the overall mean as well as the “Communication skills”. However, similar to the
results of the teacher surveys, the “Self-management” component was at the p = 0.10 level.
Secondly, the social skills survey was designed to identify 33 skills with each skill being
taught in approximately 1 week. The length of the school year was 36 weeks; however, every
week may not have been fully dedicated to social skill instruction due to assemblies, final exams,
and various other school related activities. Therefore, several lessons may have been skipped or
rushed through by the instructors. Future studies should identify each lesson taught by the
teachers as well as determine the fidelity of that instruction. This may assist with identifying and
analyzing the impact the curriculum has on the student’s social behaviors.
Another limitation involves the specific lessons provided to and taught by the instructors.
For example, each component contained a difference in the number of lessons taught. These
lessons included 4 from “Self-management”, 3 for “Interpersonal”, 11 for “Communication”, and
5 for “Initiation of social engagement”. The targeted lessons and number chosen by the teachers
might explain the significance in some areas and not others.
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Finally, the social skill survey assessed the social competence of students through the
perception of teachers and parents. Several questions provided in the survey may showed as
significant in the home setting but not in the school environment due to the accessibility to
engage in that particular behavior. For example, the Communication component involved
questions related to texting and emailing friends. Students have more opportunities to engage in
these social behaviors in less structured environments such as home; whereas, school rules often
forbid students to use phones or computers during class. Therefore, these social behaviors would
be identified by teachers as emitted “Rarely” or “Not at all” and given an equal rating pre- and
post- intervention. For this reason, further analysis should be conducted to complete a separate
parent and school survey.
Despite the limitations, the implications for these findings point to the effectiveness of
using targeted social skill instruction with researched, educational tactics to improve the
behaviors of students. With the use of the measurement instrument, initial surveys provided to
staff may assist in identifying student social deficits. Upon identification of these deficits,
intense, targeted instruction may lead to a change in the student’s behavior as perceived by
school staff and parents. Additionally, replacement behaviors for maladaptive behaviors may be
addressed through instruction in order to “reform” the student as opposed to using non-
instructional consequences such as suspensions and expulsions. Finally, the opportunities to
practice appropriate social skills may result in behavior changes that further increase positive
staff interactions. This then leads to more positive reinforcement and strengthening of
appropriate social skill development through socially valid situations that will increase the
student’s self-efficacy in social situations (Smith, Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010; Bandura, Self-
efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, 1977).
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 74

Social Skill Theory and Limitations
A current trend in special education involves social skill instruction for students with
disabilities, particularly those with autism and emotional disturbance. School districts, such as
Valley Unified School District, grapple with requests from parents and advocates to provide
these services to their children as well as the accountability expectations from the federal and
state governments regarding researched and effective measures and curriculum. In order to
address both aspects, this study examined a social skills assessment as well as instructional
methods based from the principles of effective learning to target social skill development. The
results of this study will assist in guiding informed decisions regarding the provision of social
skills to students with disabilities.
The construct of social skills has involved many concepts and theories which have led to
a variety of measurement instruments. Furthermore, the assortment of opinions and plethora of
assessment tools has led to unfounded, non-researched curriculum, often not related directly to
any test to provide a gauge of learning nor guidance to specific skills for instruction (Laugeson,
Frankel, Gantman, Dillon, & Mogil, 2012; Laushey & Heflin, 2000). Despite the range of
definitions, the literature summarizes social interaction as the umbrella with two main categories:
social competence and social skills (Nangle, Grover, Holleb, Cassano, & Fales, 2010).
Social competence involves the observer’s standard of another individual’s skills and
creates the standard of performance for a social skill (McFall R. , 1982; Nangle, Grover, Holleb,
Cassano, & Fales, 2010). Furthermore, according to the Quadripartite model, there are particular
“superordinate” or core areas that an individual’s social skill development relies upon. These
areas include cognitive skills and abilities and the ability to comprehend one’s social context,
behavioral skills, emotional competencies, and motivational and expectancy sets in order for an
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 75

individual to “want” to engage in that social behavior (Dubois & Felner, 1996; Felner, Lease, &
Phillips, 1990). In relation to this study, the creation of the social skill screener as well as the
curriculum relied upon the social competence of school staff and parents as well as the
foundational core areas identified in the quadripartite model.
Besides social competence, social skill theory itself consists of the individual performing
the task and two aspects involving that display: the response of the individual to a particular
social task and the behavior of the individual to whom the social task is being performed (Smith,
Jordan, Flood, & Hansen, 2010). As defined previously, the social skills concept which guided
this research involved the instruction of students to identify a socially appropriate goal and
manipulate their behavior to effectively attain from another individual the desired goal
(Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001). Social skills then intimately involved social validity, the
concept that the skills are relevant to the client’s social environment. For this reason, the rating
scales and curriculum were designed to teach students social skills that “fit” the societal
expectations in which they lived. If the student acted through a more “diverse” lens, social
attainment from the local community would be less likely, thereby, negating the theory of social
validity.
For these reasons, several assumptions were made in regards to the teachers’ and parents’
social competence as well as the student selection for the social skill intervention. The first
involved the social skill screener and its creation using a 5 point Likert scale. Individuals
receiving lower ratings were identified by school staff or parents as possessing less ability to
perform a particular skill. However, the concept of diversity plays an integral part in the
questions on the survey as well as the perceptions of those completing the survey. The social
competence of the raters presumably relied heavily upon their expectations of a “social norm”.
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 76

Since Valley Unified School District is an urban district, its predominant view is through the
social lens of its expected culture as opposed to identifying individual cultural, economical, and
racial diversity. Therefore, the rating scale’s standard may not be appropriately “calibrated” for
this diversity, and a student may be considered lacking in a particular social skill area whereas it
is merely a cultural difference. For this reason, “social competence” for this study became more
narrowly defined as the standard of performance for a social skill based upon the expected
measure in this district’s community.
The second assumption relied upon the same knowledge of diversity. This assumption
involved the actual instruction of the expected social skill performance. The steps outlined in the
curriculum again taught towards the author’s expected “social norm”. Additionally, the
individual teachers guided the learning and assessed performance based upon their narrow
expected and accepted beliefs of appropriate behavior. Therefore, social competence again
emphasized the expectation of the rater and not the individual performing the newly developed
skill.
Despite the limitations regarding diversity awareness, social skills are a relevant and
necessary concept for any individual, and the importance of their development is essential for
effective interactions in communities. Furthermore, social skill deficits and impairments have
been related to individual and societal consequences including depression, imprisonment, and
loss of productivity in the workplace (Greene, et al., 1999; Schumaker & Hazel, 1984). Thus,
the relevance of this research, the principles explored, and the results found will aid in the
construction of future assessment and curriculum to develop evidence based and effective social
skill instruction and practices.

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 77

Conclusion
The proliferation of autism (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009) has
created a need for further research into the area of social development. Despite many variations
of assessment in social competence and social skills as well as curriculum to address these
concerns, the research regarding the instructional practices lack thorough evidence based
research. The purpose of this research was to identify if a social skills program developed
through principles of effective learning could alter the social behavior of students with
disabilities as perceived by their parents/guardians and school staff. Using concepts of social
skill theory as well as learning, this study developed an assessment instrument and intervention
curriculum to measure and instruct in social skills. This study found both teachers and parents
observed an increase in the overall development of social skills for students participating in
Valley Unified’s intervention program. This research and these findings provide information
that will allow district’s and parents to address students with disabilities and social skill deficits
through group instruction as opposed to individual clinical or therapeutic sessions. In addition,
the procedures utilized in this research will assist in guiding future research to create better
investigative practices. Finally, this study may allow individuals with autism, emotional
disturbance, speech and language impairments, and several other disabilities to learn the “social
norms” that will allow them to interact with other individuals in their environments leading to
more successful peer, vocational, and familial connections.

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Running head: A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 90

Appendices:
Appendix A: Eighty-one question Social Skill Survey for data collection
Appendix B: Forty-one question Social Skill Survey for data collection
Appendix C: Sample lesson plan involving the learning principles of a clear objective, activation
of motivation, task analysis of steps, rationales, a working model, and reinforcement and
error correction
Appendix D: Sample lesson plan involving the learning principles of guided practice and
reinforcement and error correction
Appendix E: Sample lesson plan involving the learning principles of independent practice and
reinforcement and error correction through the use of video modeling
Appendix F: Sample lesson plan involving the learning principles of generalization
opportunities and reinforcement and error correction
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 91

Appendix A
Social Skills Screening

Student’s Name: Date: DOB:

Completed By: Relationship:

The following questions are solely intended to support possible instruction in the social skills
content area. Based on your observations in various settings and situations, please rate the
student’s current functioning on each of the following skills. Please respond to all items to the
best of your ability. If you wish to provide additional information or comments, a space is
provided for each question and at the end of this screening.

Mark 1 if the student never uses the skill.
Mark 2 if the student rarely uses the skill.
Mark 3 if the student sometimes uses the skill.
Mark 4 if the student often uses the skill.
Mark 5 if the student always uses the skill.

Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Comments
1. The student maintains appropriate
eye contact with others
1 2 3 4 5

2. The student communicates
appropriately based on setting (e.g.
party vs. church, school vs. park)
1 2 3 4 5

3. The student communicates
appropriately based on person (e.g.
adult vs. peer, family vs. stranger)
1 2 3 4 5

4. The student starts conversation with
at least one familiar peer
1 2 3 4 5

5. The student responds to conversation
started by at least one familiar peer
1 2 3 4 5

6. The student starts conversation with
at least one familiar adult
1 2 3 4 5

7. The student responds to conversation
started by at least one familiar adult
1 2 3 4 5

8. The student takes turns, listening and
speaking during conversation
1 2 3 4 5

9. The student’s volume and pace is
appropriate during conversation
1 2 3 4 5

10. The student stays on topic
appropriately during conversation
1 2 3 4 5

11. The student changes topic
appropriately during conversation
1 2 3 4 5

12. The student responds well to topic
change by others
1 2 3 4 5

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 92

Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Comments
13. The student responds appropriately to
questions asked by others
1 2 3 4 5

14. The student asks appropriate
questions of others
1 2 3 4 5

15. The student joins a conversation
appropriately
1 2 3 4 5

16. The student ends a conversation
appropriately
1 2 3 4 5

17. The student understands sarcasm
1 2 3 4 5
18. The student appropriately uses
sarcasm
1 2 3 4 5

19. The student understands humor
1 2 3 4 5
20. The student appropriately uses humor
1 2 3 4 5
21. The student understands when ‘polite
language’ should be used (e.g.
‘please’, thank you’)
1 2 3 4 5

22. The student appropriately uses ‘polite
language’ (e.g. ‘please’, ‘thank you’)
1 2 3 4 5

23. The student introduces individuals
who have not met before
1 2 3 4 5

24. The student compliments others
1 2 3 4 5
25. The student identifies the meaning of
others’ nonverbal cues
1 2 3 4 5

26. The student appropriately joins a peer
activity of interest
1 2 3 4 5

27. The student appropriately joins an
adult activity of interest
1 2 3 4 5

28. The student appropriately complies
with, negotiates or ignores peer
direction
1 2 3 4 5

29. The student appropriately complies
with, negotiates or ignores adult
direction
1 2 3 4 5

30. The student appropriately gives a
peer direction
1 2 3 4 5

31. The student functions appropriately
within a group in at least one setting
1 2 3 4 5

32. The student accepts the answer “No”
when requesting something
1 2 3 4 5

33. The student invites others to join an
activity
1 2 3 4 5

34. The student shows good
sportsmanship after winning
1 2 3 4 5

35. The student shows good
sportsmanship after losing
1 2 3 4 5

36. The student responds appropriately
to a peer initiated contact by
telephone/online chat/texts
1 2 3 4 5

37. The student appropriately contacts
1 2 3 4 5
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 93

peers by telephone/online chat/texts
Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Comments
38. The student invites peers to ‘hang
out’
1 2 3 4 5

39. The student accepts peer invites to
‘hang out’
1 2 3 4 5

40. The student appropriately shares
personal interests with others
1 2 3 4 5

41. The student appropriately shares
mutual interests with others
1 2 3 4 5

42. The student maintains appropriate
physical space with others
1 2 3 4 5

43. The student maintains at least one
friendship
1 2 3 4 5

44. The student mutually resolves
problems with a friend
1 2 3 4 5

45. The student appropriately ends a
friendship
1 2 3 4 5

46. The student accepts when a peer ends
their friendship
1 2 3 4 5

47. The student manages peer conflict
appropriately with adult support
1 2 3 4 5

48. The student manages peer conflict
appropriately without adult support
1 2 3 4 5

49. The student appropriately defends
those who have been wronged
1 2 3 4 5

50. The student appropriately shares
items with others
1 2 3 4 5

51. The student asks permission before
borrowing something
1 2 3 4 5

52. The student returns items that he/she
has borrowed
1 2 3 4 5

53. The student identifies what has
distressed/agitated someone by
asking or interpreting the situation
1 2 3 4 5

54. The student appropriately assists
others who are distressed/agitated
1 2 3 4 5

55. The student accurately identifies
when his/her actions have led to
one’s distress/agitation
1 2 3 4 5

56. The student identifies a way to correct
personal actions leading to one’s
distress/agitation (e.g. apologize,
correct the mistake).
1 2 3 4 5

57. The student takes appropriate action
to correct what they did wrong
1 2 3 4 5

58. The student treats the property of
others with respect
1 2 3 4 5

59. The student identifies when he/she
needs help with a task
1 2 3 4 5

60. The student uses at least one strategy
to get help with a task
1 2 3 4 5

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 94

Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Comments
61. The student identifies an area of
interest (e.g. hobby, leisure activity).
1 2 3 4 5

62. The student chooses leisure activities
appropriate to various settings
1 2 3 4 5

63. The student identifies his/her
emotions
1 2 3 4 5

64. The student identifies the emotions of
others
1 2 3 4 5

65. The student accepts constructive
criticism from others
1 2 3 4 5

66. The student appropriately offers
constructive criticism to others
1 2 3 4 5

67. The student maintains self-control
during conflict with peers
1 2 3 4 5

68. The student maintains self-control
during conflict with adults
1 2 3 4 5

69. The student identifies peer pressure
1 2 3 4 5
70. The student appropriately avoids,
resists or negotiates peer pressure
situations
1 2 3 4 5

71. The student follows directions from a
familiar authority figure (e.g. parent,
teacher)
1 2 3 4 5

72. The student follows directions from a
less familiar authority figure (e.g.
police, security, yard duty)
1 2 3 4 5

73. The student responds appropriately to
authority figures of both genders
1 2 3 4 5

74. The student uses at least one strategy
to manage stressful situations in at
least one setting
1 2 3 4 5

75. The student uses at least one strategy
to manage stressful situations in
multiple settings
1 2 3 4 5

76. The student maintains self-control in
stressful situations with adult help
1 2 3 4 5

77. The student maintains self-control in
stressful situations without adult help
1 2 3 4 5

78. The student transitions from one
activity or setting calmly with adult
help
1 2 3 4 5

79. The student transitions from one
activity or setting calmly without adult
help
1 2 3 4 5

80. The student remains calm with adult
support during an unexpected change
in routine
1 2 3 4 5

81. The student remains calm without
adult support during an unexpected
change in routine
1 2 3 4 5

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 95

Appendix B
Social Skills Screening

Student’s Name: Date: DOB:
Completed By: Relationship:
The following questions are solely intended to support possible instruction in the social skills content
area. Based on your observations in various settings and situations, please rate the student’s current
functioning on each of the following skills. Please respond to all items to the best of your ability. If you
wish to provide additional information or comments, a space is provided for each question and at the
end of this screening.
Mark 1 if the student never uses the skill.
Mark 2 if the student rarely uses the skill.
Mark 3 if the student sometimes uses the skill.
Mark 4 if the student often uses the skill.
Mark 5 if the student always uses the skill.
Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
1. The student maintains appropriate eye contact with others 1 2 3 4 5
2. The student communicates appropriately based on setting
(e.g. party vs. church, school vs. park)
1 2 3 4 5
3. The student communicates appropriately based on person
(e.g. adult vs. peer, family vs. stranger)
1 2 3 4 5
4. The student starts conversation with at least one familiar peer 1 2 3 4 5
5. The student starts conversation with at least one familiar adult 1 2 3 4 5
6. The student responds to conversation started by at least one
familiar adult
1 2 3 4 5
7. The student’s volume and pace is appropriate during
conversation
1 2 3 4 5
8. The student stays on topic appropriately during conversation 1 2 3 4 5
9. The student changes topic appropriately during conversation 1 2 3 4 5
10. The student responds well to topic change by others 1 2 3 4 5
11. The student responds appropriately to questions asked by
others
1 2 3 4 5
12. The student asks appropriate questions of others 1 2 3 4 5
13. The student joins a conversation appropriately 1 2 3 4 5
14. The student ends a conversation appropriately 1 2 3 4 5
15. The student compliments others 1 2 3 4 5
16. The student accepts the answer “No” when requesting
something
1 2 3 4 5
17. The student invites others to join an activity 1 2 3 4 5

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 96

Student Skill Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
18. The student appropriately contacts peers by telephone/online
chat/texts
1 2 3 4 5
19. The student accepts peer invites to ‘hang out’ 1 2 3 4 5
20. The student mutually resolves problems with a friend 1 2 3 4 5
21. The student appropriately ends a friendship 1 2 3 4 5
22. The student accepts when a peer ends their friendship 1 2 3 4 5
23. The student manages peer conflict appropriately without adult
support
1 2 3 4 5
24. The student appropriately defends those who have been
wronged
1 2 3 4 5
25. The student accurately identifies when his/her actions have
led to one’s distress/agitation
1 2 3 4 5
26. The student identifies a way to correct personal actions
leading to one’s distress/agitation (e.g. apologize, correct the
mistake).
1 2 3 4 5
27. The student identifies an area of interest (e.g. hobby, leisure
activity).
1 2 3 4 5
28. The student identifies the emotions of others 1 2 3 4 5
29. The student accepts constructive criticism from others 1 2 3 4 5
30. The student appropriately offers constructive criticism to
others
1 2 3 4 5
31. The student maintains self-control during conflict with adults 1 2 3 4 5
32. The student appropriately avoids, resists or negotiates peer
pressure situations
1 2 3 4 5
33. The student follows directions from a familiar authority figure
(e.g. parent, teacher)
1 2 3 4 5
34. The student follows directions from a less familiar authority
figure (e.g. police, security, yard duty)
1 2 3 4 5
35. The student responds appropriately to authority figures of
both genders
1 2 3 4 5
36. The student maintains self-control in stressful situations with
adult help
1 2 3 4 5
37. The student maintains self-control in stressful situations
without adult help
1 2 3 4 5
38. The student transitions from one activity or setting calmly with
adult help
1 2 3 4 5
39. The student transitions from one activity or setting calmly
without adult help
1 2 3 4 5
40. The student remains calm with adult support during an
unexpected change in routine
1 2 3 4 5
41. The student remains calm without adult support during an
unexpected change in routine
1 2 3 4 5

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 97

Appendix C
Lesson Plan Title: Skill Acquisition – Joining an Activity

Concept/Topic to Teach: Joining an Activity in a Classroom

Specific Objectives:
1. The students will identify the steps to “Joining an Activity”
2. Students will develop rationales for the steps to “Joining an Activity”
3. Students will observe a video and score the use of the social skill by the video models

Required Material:
1. Pencils
2. Skill identification worksheet

Step-by-Step Procedures:
1. Introduction Activity
a. Either the teacher or the paraprofessional will come into class late.
b. Class Role:
i. The other individual will get the class together to “play a joke” on the
teacher (or vice versa).
ii. The class will begin playing Hangman with the plan to ignore the teacher
when he/she enters
iii. The class will be given the following instructions:
1. Ignore the teacher when he/she comes in the room
2. If the teacher starts trying to play, everyone look at him/her and
scowl
3. If the teacher asks to play, everyone says “No”
4. When the game is over, everyone then acts really nice to the
teacher and lets him/her play the next game
c. Teacher’s Role
i. The teacher first enters and watches for a few seconds (being ignored by
the class)
ii. The teacher then moves up to the front of the room to the side of the board
and shouts out some letters (waiting for the class to scowl)
iii. The teacher then says “I want to play” (waiting for the class to yell “No”)
iv. The teacher then looks sad and sits at his/her desk until the game is over
v. When the game is over, the teacher asks if he/she can play again (waiting
for the class to say “Yes”)
d. After the game, ask these questions from the class
i. What did my inappropriate behavior look like?
ii. What was your reaction?
2. Guided Practice (Ppt. Slide 3)
a. Identify the skill being taught (“Joining an Activity”) and write this on the “Skill”
line.
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 98

b. Go through each of the steps to appropriately “Joining an Activity” and, if
possible, have the students provide a rationale for each step.
i. Walk up to the person or group
1. The person or group knows that you want to talk to them
2. You can get a closer look at what they are doing
ii. Get someone’s attention (say “Hey” or “Excuse me”)
1. The person or group knows that you want to talk to them
2. Using a phrase can start a conversation
iii. Compliment them or the activity (e.g. “That looks fun!” or “You guys are
good!”)
1. The person or group will think you are friendly
2. They will know you aren’t going to make fun of them
iv. Ask if you can join
1. They will know you don’t just want to watch
2. You will be more likely to let you join if you ask first
v. Join and thank them or accept “No” for an answer
1. If you thank them, they will be more likely to call you to join again
2. If you accept “No”, they might let you join next time
3. Video Model
a. Students will review the video (Ppt. Slide 4)
b. As a class, the rubric will be completed for the video (Ppt. Slide 5). This video
outlines all the correct steps to Joining an Activity.
c. Students will review the video (Ppt. Slide 6)
d. As a class, the rubric will be completed for the video (Ppt. Slide 7).

Independent Practice:
1. The students will view two more videos, grading each according to the rubric, and
discussing as a class any disagreements. (Ppt. Slides 8, 9)

Follow up Practice:
1. The students will utilize the rubric to grade each other’s performance on the following
day.

Supplemental Materials:
1. Search-a-word puzzle
2. Picture story illustrating the steps to Joining an Activity
3. Other books may be used for supplemental material

Assessment based on objective:
1. Assessments will be based on the completion of the worksheet (10 possible)
a. 1 point for completing the skill name
b. 1 point for completing the definition
c. 1 point for each step
d. 1 point for completing the rationales for each step

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 99

Name: Date:
Skill:
1.

Rationale:

2.

Rationale:

3.

Rationale:

4.

Rationale:

5.

Rationale:

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 100

Name: Date:

Scoring Rubric for Joining an Activity
1 = Correct 0 = Incorrect
Names 1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

Walk up to
the person
or group

Get
someone’s
attention

Compliment
them or the
activity

Ask if you
can join

Join and
thank them
or accept no

Number
Correct

Total
Possible

Percentage

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 101

Appendix D
Lesson Plan Title: Classroom Practice – “Joining an Activity”

Concept/Topic to Teach: “Joining an Activity”

Specific Objectives:
1. The students will practice and demonstrate “Joining an Activity” with peers
2. The students will demonstrate “Joining an Activity”

Required Material:
1. Power Point slides for “Joining an Activity” – Classroom Practice
2. Supplemental Activities
3. Role-play Scenario Worksheet
4. Recording Materials
5. Signed Permission to Record
6. Pencils

Step-by-Step Procedures:
1. Introduction Activity
a. Review the steps to “Joining an Activity” (Ppt. slide 2)
b. Can also display any supplemental materials completed that students produced
(e.g. comic strip, pictorial steps, etc.)
2. Guided Practice
a. Students will get into groups of 2-5 individuals. (Ppt. slide 3)
b. The teacher will provide an example of a script (Ppt. slide 4).
c. Using the potential role play scenarios, the groups of students will complete a
script with a correct demonstration of the use of “Joining an Activity”. (Ppt. slide
5)
d. The teacher will explain the rubric again if necessary (Ppt. slide 6)
e. The students will watch and grade each other’s role-plays while the staff records
the role-plays for future review with the student. A “Thought Bubble” will need to
be used for step 2 of “Joining an Activity”.
f. Using the potential role play scenarios, the groups of students will complete a
script with an incorrect demonstration of the use of “Joining an Activity”.
Students will need to omit at least 1 step from their role play (Ppt. slide 7-9).
g. The students will watch and grade each other’s role-plays while the staff records
the role-plays for future review with the student.

Independent Practice:
1. The students will complete a script
2. The students will watch and grade each role-play.

Follow up Practice:
The students will use the skill outside the classroom during the generalization phase.

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 102

Supplemental Materials:
Additional materials are included (crossword puzzle, comic strip, etc.)

Assessment based on objective:
1. A point should be provided for the display of each step during the appropriate role play
scenes.
2. Assessment will be based on the accuracy of identifying whether each step was displayed
by their peers (points will vary dependent upon the number of role-plays performed).

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 103

Appendix E

Lesson Plan Title: Video Feedback - Joining an Activity

Concept/Topic to Teach: Joining an Activity

Specific Objectives:
1. The students will be observing and grading their own display of Joining an Activity by
reviewing their video from the previous day.

Required Material:
1. Supplemental Activities
2. Video display Devices
3. Signed Permission to Record

Step-by-Step Procedures:
1. Introduction Activity (Ppt. slide 2)
a. Let the students know that they will review their own videos today and grade
themselves.
b. While a student is reviewing their video, the other students need to be either
completing independent work or participating in reviewing the video. Remind
students of classroom rules and expectations if necessary.
c. For students who do not handle criticism, prompt them beforehand that everyone
will be getting feedback. Practice or display the videos individually if necessary.
d. expectations if necessary)
2. Guided Video Practice
a. The teacher will explain the rubric and provide a demonstration of the grading
process again if necessary (Ppt. slide 3)
b. The students will receive their rubrics from the previous day.
c. Each video will be displayed, scored, and provided feedback by the staff and
students. (Ppt. slide 4)
d. If there are incorrect answers, the staff will replay the video, pausing as necessary,
to provide corrective feedback using the teaching interaction model.

Independent Practice:
The student will watch and grade the model role-play and his/her own video.

Follow up Practice:
1. Generalization practice in the community
2. Homework

Assessment based on objective:
1. Assessment will be based on the accuracy of identifying and marking on the rubric
whether each step was displayed by the model role-play and his/her own video.
2. Additional assessments may include the completion of the supplemental materials.

A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 104

Appendix F

Lesson Plan Title: Generalization – Joining an Activity

Concept/Topic to Teach: Joining an Activity

Specific Objectives:
1. The students will practice Joining an Activity.

Required Material:
1. Grading rubrics for all individuals involved
2. Supplementary materials
3. Enough games and activities for several groups

Step-by-Step Procedures:
1. Guided Practice
a. Review the steps to “Joining an Activity”.
b. Have a discussion about the difference in “Joining an Activity” with a familiar or
an unfamiliar person.

Independent Practice:
1. The students will be divided into at least groups of 3.
2. Each group will be assigned an activity (board game, computer, puzzles, etc.)
3. Each student in the groups will be given a number from 1-3.
4. A timer will be set for 5 minutes.
5. When the timer beeps, a number will be drawn and those students with the assigned
number will need to rotate clockwise to the next group. They will need to ask to join that
current activity. Inform the students that they cannot say “No” when a student asks to
join.
a. If the student remains follows the steps to “Joining an Activity”, the student may
join the group.
b. If the student does not follow the steps to “Joining an Activity”, the individual can
explain that they’d be more likely to listen to the student if they were able to
(walk up to the group, get someone’s attention, compliment them or the activity,
ask if they can join, and thank them
6. Continue until all students have been observed by the classroom staff, and all students
have displayed mastery of the skill.

Follow up Practice:
1. Homework

Supplemental Materials/Modifications:
1. Materials:
a. Materials or activities will need to be provided.
2. Modifications:
A DISTRICT’S SOCIAL SKILL CURRICULUM 105

a. For larger classes, larger groups may be formed with additional numbers assigned
to students.
b. For students who do not have a difficult time “Joining an Activity”, the staff
could manage a group and the individuals in the group engaged in conversations
with other people, not making eye contact with the student who wants to join the
group. This will make the student need to wait for a pause before interrupting.

Assessment based on objective:
1. Assessments will be completed by the individual and graded on the number of correct
steps completed out of total possible steps.
2. Assessments will be completed by the student and graded upon the accuracy of their
answers when compared to the other individuals.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify if researched based methods of learning could be applied to social skill instruction for students with disabilities. The study developed an instrument to measure social skill development. Four sub-components of the instrument were identified in the analysis. The instrument was then utilized prior to and following the implementation of a ten month social skill intervention program within a suburban school district. A significant difference was identified in the comparison of means by both the parent and school staff groups. Additionally, a significant difference in the means was identified between the experimental and control groups following the intervention.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Kelly, Conor (author)

Core Title The effectiveness of a district's social skills curriculum for students with disabilities

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 11/03/2014

Defense Date 05/05/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag autism,emotional disturbance,OAI-PMH Harvest,social skills,Special Education

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Keim, Robert G. (committee chair), Early, Sean (committee member), Hocevar, Dennis (committee member), Smith, Patrick (committee member)

Creator Email conorkel@usc.edu,guinness@jhu.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-512268

Unique identifier UC11297523

Identifier etd-KellyConor-3060.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-512268 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-KellyConor-3060.pdf

Dmrecord 512268

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Kelly, Conor

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA