Effects of social skills training in the classroom on social competences of pupils and classroom climate

Mladostniki z lažjo motnjo v duševnem razvoju imajo primanjkljaje na področju intelektualnega delovanja in prilagoditvenih spretnosti. V slednje uvrščamo tudi težave na področju socialnih veščin, zato smo se odločili za izvedbo treninga socialnih veščin v dveh šestih razredih osnovne šole s prilagojenim programom vzgoje in izobraževanja z nižjim izobrazbenim standardom. Vključena je bila tudi kontrolna skupina. Potekalo je 10 srečanj z interaktivnimi igrami in diskusijami po eno šolsko uro v vsaki skupini, enkrat na teden. Z vprašalnikom socialnih veščin so bile izmerjene veščine asertivnost, empatija, samokontrola, sodelovanje in odgovornost. Socialne veščine so ocenili učenci in njihovi starši. Zanimal nas je tudi morebiten vpliv treninga na razredno klimo, za merjenje katere smo prav tako uporabili vprašalnik, ki so ga izpolnili učenci in razredničarke. Izveden je bil tudi intervju z razredničarkama eksperimentalnih razredov. Po vsakem srečanju je potekala evalvacija posamezne delavnice s strani učencev, razredničark in vodje delavnic. Rezultati so pokazali, da je imel trening socialnih veščin rahel pozitiven učinek na socialne veščine v splošnem, spremembe so se pokazale tudi pri nekaterih specifičnih veščinah. Pri razredni klimi so se pokazale manjše pozitivne spremembe v medosebnih odnosih, ki so del konstrukta, na podlagi rezultatov pa ne moremo ugotoviti vpliva treninga na razredno klimo. Evalvacije so pokazale zadovoljstvo s treningom, učenci so poročali o dobrem počutju, razredničarki pa o ustreznosti in koristnosti treninga. Tovrstne treninge socialnih veščin bi bilo smiselno skozi daljše časovno obdobje izvajati tudi v prihodnje, saj že krajše intervencije pripomorejo k pozitivnim spremembam.Adolescents with a mild intellectual disability have deficiencies in intellectual activity and adaptive skills. The latter also includes problems with social skills, that is why we decided to implement a social skills training in two 6th grade groups in primary school with special educational program with a lower education standard. A control group was also included. Twelve meetings were held with interactive games and discussions one hour a week in each group, once a week. With the social skills questionnaire, we measured assertiveness, empathy, self-control, cooperation and responsibility. Social skills were assessed by pupils and their parents. We were also interested in the potential impact of training on the classroom climate, for measuring which we also used a questionnaire, that was filled by pupils and class teachers. An interview with class teachers of experimental classes was also conducted. After each meeting, training was evaluated by pupils, classmates and trainer. The results showed that social skills training had a slight positive effect on social skills in general, and some specific skills have also been shown to change. The results of training on classroom climate showed smaller positive changes in interpersonal relationships, which are part of the construct, but we can not claim the overall impact of training on the classroom climate on the basis of results. Evaluations showed satisfaction with training, pupils reported on well-being, and class teachers reported on the suitability and usefulness of the training. Such social skills trainings should be used in the future over a longer period of time, as shorter interventions already contribute to positive changes