Teacher Attitudes Toward Social Skills Training

Abstract

Social skills training has become a popular intervention for teaching prosocial behavior to handicapped and nonhandicapped adolescents. While there has been extensive research on the use of social skills training, there has not been an accompanying examination of the willingness and preparation of teachers to implement this intervention. This study addressed this issue by surveying the staff of five urban secondary schools regarding their attitudes toward social skills training. More than 82% of teachers surveyed supported the inclusion of social skills training in the school curriculum; 75% indicated that they were willing to conduct the intervention in secondary schools, though they reported that certain aspects of the training may be difficutt to implement. While the majority of teachers were supportive of social skills training, significant differences were found in willingness to be involved when respondents were categotized according to their subject area and the school in which they taught. The implications for school-wide social skills education are discussed.