Nicole Dobbins

An Analysis of Social Skills Instruction Provided in Teacher Education and In-Service Training Programs for General and Special Educators

An adapted version of the Teacher/Staff Skillstreaming Checklist was used to determine the level, type, and area of social skills instruction provided to general and special education teachers. Nine universities participated in the study in which facilitators advertised the adapted questionnaire to licensed general and special education teachers enrolled in university-based degree programs over a 6-month period. A total of 237 participants completed the questionnaire. Results indicate that general and special education teachers receive a limited amount of direct and incidental social skills instruction in their preservice and/or in-service training programs. The general and special education teachers reported receiving more instruction in particular areas of social skills within their in-service training. Special education teachers who teach in self-contained settings did not receive more social skills instruction than did resource room teachers in preservice or in-service training programs. However, special education teachers who teach in resource rooms did receive more social skills instruction than did general education teachers, but only in their preservice training programs.

An Observation Tool for Monitoring Social Skill Implementation in Contextually Relevant Environments

Skills related to social-emotional learning (SEL) are essential for college and career readiness. Failure to use appropriate skills for SEL in school is often linked to several negative academic outcomes, including rejection by school community members, academic deficits, and higher rates of problematic behavior. Social skills interventions are commonly used to address deficits in SEL. To be most effective, these interventions must be culturally and contextually relevant to the student. The Social Skills Observation Tool (SSOT) was developed to (a) identify the social skills commonly used within natural school environments and (b) determine specific student deficits in the appropriate use of these skills. Implications for practice are discussed.

Parent–Professional Partnerships in Early Education: Relationships for Effective Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

The increasing enrollment of children with disabilities and developmental delays in inclusive settings requires reconsiderations of the scope and depth of early childhood professional development. In this study, a phenomenological research design was used to gain the perspectives of 13 parents and child care providers about their participation in an in-service training guided by the Partnerships in Early Education: Relationships with Supports (PEERS) model, which was designed to promote inclusive practices in early childhood child care settings. The analysis of collected interview data indicates that the training model has various components that participants found useful for the implementation of inclusive practices. Implications for the development of statewide collaborative in-service trainings on inclusive education for young children with special needs are discussed.

Providing Support for English Language Learners With Behavioral Needs

The group of students whose primary language is not English, commonly referred to as English language learners, is one of the fastest-growing groups of students. Teachers need to have a clear understanding that English learners may exhibit internalizing or externalizing behaviors related to their language development. When English learners exhibit behaviors that impede their learning or the learning of others, educators need to develop appropriate behavior plans that consider these language-learning factors. This article describes the impact that learning English may have on student behavior, as well as the necessary design modifications for appropriate functional assessments and behavior plans for this population.