Teaching social skills in primary school: an action research

The aim of this study is to identify the social skills that pose challenges for 4th-grade primary school students, implement an intervention program to support the development of these skills, and evaluate its effectiveness. In line with this aim, the research was conducted using an action research design. The study group consisted of fourth-grade students attending a public primary school in Ankara during the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Among the participants, 11 were girls, 17 were boys, and 1 student was receiving inclusive education support. The classroom teacher possessed 13 years of professional teaching experience. In the study, the "Social Skills Assessment Scale," for children aged 7-12, and a semi-structured interview form were utilized to identify the dimensions of social skills in which students experience difficulties. The Social Skills Assessment Scale was analyzed using frequency analysis, while the interview forms were evaluated through content analysis. The intervention program was designed to address the challenges faced by the students and included activities such as problem-solving wheels, story reading, and creative drama. The findings of the study revealed that the problem-solving wheel was identified as the most effective method among the intervention program activities designed to address the students' challenges related to social skills. The problem-solving wheel was found to contribute to the development of students' social skills in areas such as maintaining relationships, coping with aggressive behaviors, and solving problems. Another method employed in the intervention program, creative drama, was observed to have positive implications in areas related to initiating and maintaining relationships, collaborating and conforming within a group, coping with aggressive behaviors, and emotional skills. Story reading activities were found to contribute to the development of social skills such as coping with teasing, respecting differences, empathy, managing embarrassing situations, raising awareness about peer bullying, understanding others' emotions, dealing with exclusion, coping with group pressure, helping others, and respecting diversity.