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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-1988 The Ability of Teachers of Preschool Handicapped to Use Observational Behavioral Assessment Techniques in Assessing Social Skills Stephen P. Barbus Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Disability and Equity in Education Commons, and the Special Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Barbus, Stephen P., "The Ability of Teachers of Preschool Handicapped to Use Observational Behavioral Assessment Techniques in Assessing Social Skills" (1988). Dissertations. 2195. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/2195 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ABILITY OF TEACHERS OF PRESCHOOL HANDICAPPED TO USE OBSERVATIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES IN ASSESSING SOCIAL SKILLS by Stephen P. Barbus A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Department of Special Education Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1988 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE ABILITY OF TEACHERS OF PRESCHOOL HANDICAPPED TO USE OBSERVATIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES IN ASSESSING SOCIAL SKILLS Stephen P. Barbus, Ed.D. Western Michigan University, 1988 Socially competent preschool children effectively use a variety of social skills, including initiating and maintaining interactions, using others as resources, expressing affection and hostility appropriately, and competing with, leading, and following peers. Children lacking these behaviors are at greater risk of interpersonal difficulties, delayed cognitive development, poor academic performance, school maladjustment, and mental health problems. Handicapped children are deficient in a variety of social skills. Before special education can provide effective intervention in requisite social skills it must estab lish accurate and r e lia b le assessment techn i ques. One such technique, behavioral assessment of social skills, uses several methods. Of these, observation in the natural setting is the most functional and socially valid. This technique enables teachers to act as. participant observers, provides assessment information free of reactive change in student behavior, and is directly applicable to intervention and repeated measurement. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This investigation measured the degree of accuracy and consistency with which teachers of handicapped preschoolers could apply observational techniques in assessing social skills in the school setting. This was accomplished by: (a) identifying and describing preschool social competence in observable terms, (b) developing a videotape displaying examples of the skills inherent in this competence, (c) organizing a response protocol to record these skills, and (d) permitting teachers to view examples and record their observations. Proportions of agreement were calculated measuring the rate of accuracy, interobserver agreement, and the consistency with which individual teachers recorded social skills across repeated observations. Results indicated the ability of teachers of handicapped preschoolers to consistently and accurately record observed social skill behavior in the preschool setting. Agreement proportions exceeding 80 percent were attained on all measures. The results support continued efforts to validate the observational technique used in this study, preparatory to linking assessment with a specifically designed intervention program. Additionally, the results imply a potential contribution to understanding the handicapped preschooler's social skill needs in relation to particular handicapping conditions and developmental levels. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo­ graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 8909106 The ability of teachers of preschool handicapped to use observational behavioral assessment techniques in assessing social skills Barbus, Stephen Patrick, Ed.D. Western Michigan University, 1988 Copyright ©1988 by Barbus, Stephen Patrick. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Stephen P. Barbus 1988 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Vi i i LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 Purpose ..................................................................................... 8 R ationale ................................................................................ 8 I I . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................. 12 Previous Studies .............................................................. 12 The Or i g i n of Soc i a I Sk iI Is .................................. 13 Toward a D e fin itio n of Social Sk i I I s ....................................................................................... 16 Terminology ................................................................... 17 Definitional Categories .................................... 18 Social Skills: A Behavioral Definition ..................................................................... 20 D e fin itio n a l Issues and Assessment .... 21 Conclusion ..................................................................... 22 Development of Social Skills in Children . 23 Theoretical Foundations .................................... 24 The Growth of Social S k ills in Young Children .................................................... 30 Behavioral Assessment .................................. 54 Comparison of Behavioral and T rad itio n al Assessment ....................................... 57 i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Behavioral Assessment of Soc i a I Sk i I I s ...................................................... 63 Methods in the Behavioral Assessment of Social S k ills .......................... 65 General Issues in Observational Assessment of Social S k ills .......................... 71 Teachers as Participant Observers in Behavioral Assessment .................................. 77 Observational Assessment of Handicapped Preschoolers .................................. 79 The Reliability, Validity, and Genera Iizab iIity of Observational Systems ............................................................................. 84 Social SkiI Is TrainIng ....................................... 92 Social Skills Training and Handicapped Preschoolers .................................. 93 III. METHOD ............................................................................................... 98 Observational Assessment of Soc i a I Sk i I I s .............................................................

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