Abstract
Students who experience social withdrawal and anxiety (internalizing difficulties) are often overlooked in schools due to the covert nature of their symptoms. The literature lacks empirically supported preventive approaches for kindergarten students who are socially withdrawn and behind their peers in developing social skills. Furthermore, research suggests that parents often are not adequately involved in interventions during this critical period of social development. In response to this need, a school-based intervention was implemented to increase the positive social interaction of three kindergarten students on the playground. Treatment consisted of (a) social skills training, (b) adult mediation, (c) self-evaluation and reinforcement, and (d) parent involvement through home notes. The effects of this intervention were assessed on the playground during recess using partial interval recording of target students’ positive interactions. During implementation of the intervention, all target students demonstrated improvements in social interaction. Future studies should investigate whether addressing the limitations of this study would yield stronger results with this underserved population.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, M. B., Womack, S. A., Shatzer, R. H., & Caldarella, P. (2010). Parent involvement in school-wide social skills instruction: Practice and perceptions of a home note program. Education, 130(3), 513–528.
Alberto, P. A., & Troutman, A. C. (2013). Applied behavior analysis for teachers (9th edn.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
American Psychiatric Association. (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edn., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Bennett, G. A. (1986). Behavior therapy for obesity: A quantitative review of the effects of selected treatment characteristics on outcome. Behavior Therapy, 17, 554–562.
Collaborative for Academic. Social, and Emotional Learning. (2012.) 2013 CASEL Guide: Effective social and emotional learning programs. (Preschool and Elementary School Edition). Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/guide/.
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis. Columbus, OH: Pearson Education.
Coplan, R. J., & Rubin, K. H. (2010). Social withdrawal and shyness in childhood: History, theories, definitions, and assessments. In K. H. Rubin & R. J. Coplan (Eds.), The development of shyness and social withdrawal (pp. 3–20). New York, NY: Guilford.
Cox, D. D. (2005). Evidence-based interventions using home-school collaboration. School Psychology Quarterly, 20(4), 473–497. doi:10.1521/scpq.2005.20.4.473.
Dowd, T., & Tierney, J. (2005). Teaching social skills to youth. Boys Town, NE: Boys Town.
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.
Gast, D. L. (2010). Single subject research methodology in behavioral sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.
Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119, 182–191. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2697.
Greco, L. A., & Morris, T. L. (2001). Treating childhood shyness and related behavior: Empirically evaluated approaches to promote positive social interactions. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 4(4), 299–318. doi:10.1023/A:1013543320648.
Hayward, C., Killen, J., Kraemer, H., & Taylor, C. (1998). Linking self-reported childhood behavioral inhibition to adolescent social phobia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(12), 1308–1316. doi:10.1097/00004583-199812000-00015.
Horner, R. H., Carr, E. G., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. (2005). The use of single subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 165–179.
January, A. M., Casey, R. J., & Paulson, D. (2011). A meta-analysis of classroom-wide interventions to build social skills: Do they work? School Psychology Review, 40(2), 242–256.
Jolstead, K. A. (2015). The effects of class-wide function related teams on preschool behavior. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Provo, UT: Brigham Young University.
Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). Comprehensive evidence-based social-emotional curricula for young children: An analysis of efficacious adoption potential. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23(2), 65–76. doi:10.1177/02711214030230020201.
Kerr, M. M., & Nelson, M. C. (2006). Strategies for managing behavior problems in the classroom (5th edn.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Lane, K. L., & Beebe-Frankenberger, M. (2004). School based interventions: The tools you need to succeed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Low, S., Cook, C. R., Smolkowski, K., & Buntain-Ricklefs, J. (2015). Promoting social-emotional competence: An evaluation of the elementary version of Second Step. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 463–477.
Marchant, M. R., Solano, B. R., Fisher, A. K., Caldarella, P., Young, K., & Renshaw, T. L. (2007). Modifying socially withdrawn behavior: A playground intervention for students with internalizing behaviors. Psychology in the Schools, 44(8), 779–784. doi:10.1002/pits.20265.
Martens, B. K., Witt, J. C., Elliott, S. N., & Darveaux, D. (1985). Teacher judgments concerning the acceptability of school based interventions. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 16, 191–198. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.16.2.191.
McGinnis, E. (2012). Skillstreaming the elementary school child: A guide for teaching prosocial skills (3rd edn.). Champaign: Research Press.
McGinnis, E., & Goldstein, A. P. (1997). Skillstreaming the elementary school child. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
McGoey, K. E., Prodan, T., & Condit, N. (2007). Examining the effects of teacher and self-evaluation of disruptive behavior via school-home notes for two young children in kindergarten. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 3(4–41), 365–376.
Merrell, K. W. (2002). Preschool and kindergarten behavior scales (2nd edn.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Nelson, J. R., Smith, D. J., & Colvin, G. (1995). The effects of a peer mediated self-evaluation procedure on the recess behavior of students with behavior problems. Remedial and Special Education, 16(2), 117–126.
Parker, R. I., Vannest, K. J., Davis, J. L., & Sauber, S. B. (2011). Combining nonoverlap and trend for single-case research: Tau-U. Behavior Therapy, 42, 284–299. doi: 10.1016/.beth.2010.08.006.
Peacock, G. G., & Collett, B. R. (2010). Collaborative home/school interventions. New York, NY: Guilford.
Pellegrini, A. D., & Bohn, C. M. (2005). The role of recess in children’s cognitive performance and school adjustment. Educational Researcher, 34(1), 13–19.
Rakap, S. (2015). Effect sizes as result interpretation aids in single-subject experimental research: Description and application of four nonoverlap methods. British Journal of Special Education, 42, 11–33. doi:10.1111/1467-8578.12091.
Rubin, K. H., & Asendorpf, J. B. (1993). Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood: Conceptual and definitional issues. In Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 3–17). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J. (2006). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 571–645). New York, NY: Wiley.
Schwartz, C. E., Snidman, N., & Kagan, J. (1999). Adolescent social anxiety as an outcome of inhibited temperament in childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(8), 1008–1015. doi:10.1097/00004583-199908000-00017.
Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156–1171.
Walker, H. M., Ramsey, E., & Gresham, F. M. (2004). Antisocial behavior at school: Strategies and best practices (2nd edn.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Walker, H. M., Severson, H. H., & Feil, E. G. (1995). Early screening project: A proven child-find process. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
Weiss, B., Jackson, E. W., & Süsser, K. (1997). Effect of co-occurrence on the referability of internalizing and externalizing problem behavior in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(2), 198–204. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2602_8.
Acknowledgements
The research reported in this article was supported by a Grant from the David O. McKay School of Education, Brigham Young University, awarded to Darlene H. Anderson.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, D.H., Trinh, S.M., Caldarella, P. et al. Increasing Positive Playground Interaction for Kindergarten Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Early Childhood Educ J 46, 487–496 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0878-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0878-2