A School for All project. Joint research plan. Teachers Supporting the Development of Social Skills

Transcription

1 A School for All project Joint research plan Teachers Supporting the Development of Social Skills

2 October 2013 Dr Sai Väyrynen University of Lapland 2

3 Introduction The basis of this study is the idea of knowledge and behaviour as being socially constructed. Knowledge and behaviours are changing over times, and across social contexts. It is build up and passed on through social interaction. (Donald, Lazarus & Lolwana, 2002, 72.) The development of social skills is also based on the idea that is a continuous process of informal and formal learning. Teachers role in this process is fundamental. Since knowledge and behaviours are socially constructed, in formal learning, there needs to be opportunities for collaboration so that mediation, the driving force behind development, can take place (Vygotsky, 1978). Following the thinking of Vygotsky, a mediator (a parent, teacher or peer), serves an important role in a child s development. A mediator can engage the child in thinking forward at a space of knowledge where the child cannot yet understand, or master a skill, alone, but has the potential to do so through proximal interaction with somebody who has the capacity. In interaction, the mediator can help the child to shift his present idea, knowledge or skill to a new level of understanding. The idea of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is be related to inclusive pedagogy as well. Peterson and Hittie (2003, 2007) have identified four building blocks for inclusive pedagogy: scaffolding (mediation) at the zone of proximal development, multilevel teaching, the use of multiple intelligences, and taking into account different learning styles. Scaffolding (mediation) can be implemented through learner interaction in heterogeneous groups, or through direct and indirect teacher action. The development of social skills is, therefore, a basis of learning. If we do not have social skills, interaction in social contexts will be disturbed, and eventually, jeopardise learning as well. While curricula set targets for subject-based learning, social skills should be learnt and adopted in the overall learning process. Some learners may adopt these skills without difficulties, while some learners might need support scaffolding or mediation to acquire these skills. Therefore, teachers have a fundamental role in designing her pedagogy in such a way that there are 3

4 opportunities to practice social skills; but also, in designing methods that support those learners who struggle with their social skills development. A School for All project aims at developing inclusive education through school-based activities and research. As social skills development is such a crucial aspect of overall learning, this was selected as the topic of the joint research. With a view of developing teacher education for inclusion, the focus of the research is on teachers practice in relation to social skills development. Taking into account teachers role as mediators, all teachers, regardless of their subject area or experience, should design their teaching approaches in such a way that social skills can be developed. In order to determine how social skills development could be promoted in teaching practice, and in teacher education, we will look at the actual situation in some of the selected project schools at the moment. Social skills development In the joint research, we have developed a framework for our study of social skills development. This framework draws on different scientific traditions and the work of several researchers (e.g. Merrell, 2002; Salmivalli, 2005; [Russian authors]). In terms of inclusive education, four major dimensions have been selected: 1) empathy; 2) tolerance; 3) collaboration; and 4) adaptive behaviour;. The first two dimensions are related to feelings and attitudes, and the latter two to action (behaviour). For each dimension we have defined indicators of observable behaviours. The relationships between these dimensions are described in the figure 1 next page: 4

5 Feelings and attitudes Empathy Tolerance Co-participation Acknowledging other persons feelings Rendering help Respect to others Acceptance to the rights of the persons Collaboration Adaptive Behaviour Motivation for collaboration Involvement Role-taking Making compromises Reactions to difficulties Reactions to changes Actions Figure 1: Relationships between dimensions of social skills In our thinking, there is a strong connection between emotional development and behaviour. In order to value and understand diversity, there is a need to be able to feel empathy. The ability for empathy can foster a tolerant attitude; and with a tolerant attitude, the emotional capacity for empathy can be increased. Emotions and attitudes are, in turn, translated into actual behaviours in a range of situations. Experiences from collaboration and appropriate behaviours in changing social situations will provide us feedback that mirrors our emotions and attitudes; positive experiences may develop further our ability to feel empathy and take a tolerant position towards diversity, whereas negative experiences may have repercussions. 5

6 Research Design Bearing in mind the outputs of the School for All project set for the development of teacher education, the joint research focuses on teacher practice in real teaching situations. We assume that all teachers support learners in the development of social skills implicitly or explicitly; and by making these practices explicit, we can make teachers more aware of their actual practice and further develop it. It is also important that student teachers in pre-service teacher education are also guided to observe the ways in which social skills development can be incorporated in daily practice. Therefore, the joint research has a purpose of identifying pedagogical approaches for incorporating social skills development in teaching practice of all teachers or, the lack of such actions. The research design draws on action research in that the focus of study is on practice. We investigate practice in this study in two, distinct ways: First of all, practice as intentions, meanings, and values as understood by the teachers themselves. Secondly, practice is observed from an external perspective where the researchers look at teachers individual performance (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2000, 574); behaviours and actions in relation to the development of social skills at school. Through this research we aim to answer the following research questions: How do teachers understand social skills? How do teachers promote the development of social skills in their daily practice? Target groups: 6

7 One class of children of 9-10 years old in three schools in each partner region will be selected as a target group. Each university makes the final decision of the selected classes independently. The research process involves a two-step approach in order to gain perspectives to both the practitioner view and an external view of teaching practice: 1. All teachers who teach the selected classes will be asked to fill out the questionnaire on teacher s reactions to different situations (Annex 1). The described situations are related to the different dimensions of social skills as presented on p Teachers practice will be observed in each of the selected class three times, one full day / class. Observations are guided by questions related to each indicator (Annex 2). The same researcher(s) should observe the same class for consistency. The data analysis framework will be developed jointly by the project academic team when the data has been collected. This is in line with qualitative research process where analysis is designed on the basis of the data. As there are cultural differences and educational differences in the contexts to be studied, it is important to look at the data in a holistic manner before deciding on the data analysis. Tentative schedule Time Task Responsibility September Interview and observation schedules to be finalised UoL, with MSHU and NARFU feedback September-October Training of researchers for the field work UoL, MSHU, NARFU October - November Data collection in the selected schools UoL, MSHU, NARFU 7

8 Transcription & translation of interviews; translation of observation notes, if not written in English Mid-December All data transcribed Initial findings of the data, translated into English and sent to UoL End January Academic group 2-day workshop in Archangelsk UoL, MSHU, NARFU Academic group members NARFU, MSHU, UoL Early February First draft of the joint research report Report sent to MSHU, NARFU End February Comments on the first draft sent to UoL January - February Research report writing at individual universities within the local contexts Mid-March Second draft Preparation of presentations for the IE in the Barents Conference End March IE in the Barents Conference April Submission of the joint article in a peer-reviewed international journal UoL MSHU, NARFU MSHU, NARFU, UoL UoL MSHU, NARFU, UoL UoL, MSHU, NARFU 8

9 References Donald, D.; Lazarus, S. & Lolwana, P. (2002) Educational Psychology in Social Context. Second Edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Kemmis, S. & McTaggart, R. (2000) Participatory Action Research. In: Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc Merrell, K. W. (2002). School Social Behavior Scales (Second Edition). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Merrell, K. W. (2003). Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment of children and adolescents (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Salmivalli, C. (2005) Kaverien kanssa. Vertaissuhteet ja sosiaalinen kehitys.[with peers. Peer relations and social development] Jyväskylä: PSkustannus. Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society. The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 9