Evaluating Circle Time as a Support to Social Skills Development – Reflections on a Journey in School Based Research By Catherine Canney (Senior Educational Psychologist) and Alison Byrne (Senior Spee
St Augustine’s School, Hospitaller order of St. John of God. August 2004
Abstract
A deficit in socially skilled behaviour is often the most distinguishing characteristic that sets people with an intellectual disability apart from their non-disabled peers. The need for social skills training to take place within the context of real life daily situations has been emphasised in more recent literature as essential in facilitating people with an intellectual disability to generalise new skills.
The researchers involved in this study, an educational psychologist and a speech and language therapist, work in a school for children with mild intellectual disability, as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Analysis of teachers' referrals to the team indicated a significant and ongoing need for supporting social skills development among the students.
The original purpose of this study was to investigate the merits of Circle Time, as a
classroom intervention, aimed at improving the social skills of students with a mild intellectual disability. It was an experimental design comprising a Circle Time (Experimental) Group and a Social Skills Training (Control) Group. Students from four classes participated in the research project (about 15% of the student population of the school).
The students' needs in terms of social skills were identified through the administration of a Teacher Rating Scale. Two target classes of students received Circle Time. Two other class groups acted as controls. Those students in the control groups who were identified as needing social skills support received the model of intervention traditionally offered in the school, (extracted group for social skills training). The Teacher Rating Scale was administered again to all four class groups at the end of the research period to facilitate pre and post-intervention comparisons.
When we reached the analysis stage a variety of methodological issues arose. Some of these issues are inherent in school based research and some were to do with difficulties evaluating Circle Time itself. What follows is an account of our unexpected journey and our learning. Discussion addresses methodological implications and issues in the organisation and implementation of Circle Time. We hope this will serve as a support to those involved in delivering Circle Time, at a practical level. We also hope it will help to inform future research in this field.
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