Analyzing the Social Skills of Students at the Early Childhood Education Level and the Role of School Personnel

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the social skills of students in early childhood education (ECE) and the practices and challenges faced by the teacher and the head teacher in developing these students' social skills. The case study research design was adopted for this study. One school in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) was selected. The social Skills Observation Scale (SSOS) and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The validity and usability of the research instrument were ensured before data collection. Each of the twenty-two ECE students was observed three times for their social skills. Semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher and the head teacher of the school. The study concluded that there was a need to improve the social skills of the students. The students had a higher level of interaction and participation skills as compared to the emotional skills. The teacher and the head teacher faced problems related to the differences in background/cultural differences among students, lack of time allocated for social skills in school and personality differences among children. It is recommended to involve parents along with the school in the development of their children's social skills.