Social Validation of Adolescent Social Skills by Teachers and Students

Abstract

This study investigated the social validation of adolescent social skills by teachers and students. A total of 183 general and special education secondary teachers responded to a social skills survey that assessed teacher perceptions of the importance of social skills under three adjustment domains: relating to others, relating to adults, relating to yourself. Four hundred thirty-seven nonhandicapped and handicapped students, enrolled in the participating teachers' classes, responded to a student version of the same survey. Results indicated high levels of stability and internal consistency for the teacher survey. Only internal consistency was assessed for the student survey, and it exceeded .90 for each section of the survey. Much higher agreement levels were obtained on the survey social skills among teacher groups and among student groups than between teacher and student respondent groups. The one area of moderate agreement obtained between teachers and students dealt with the social skills necessary to adjust satisfactorily to instructional settings. The most highly rated teacher social skills related to behavioral compliance, task engagement and completion, responsiveness to the teacher, and the display of socially mature behavior. The lowest rated skills by teachers dealt with peer-related social behavior. In contrast, the highest rated skills by students focused on relationship dynamics and the quality of social exchanges with others. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for constructing adolescent social skills curricula and the importance of addressing both teacher- and student-preferred social skills within instructional programs.