interventions to promote peer social interactions in preschool settings

8/9/2019 Interventions to Promote Peer Social Interactions in Preschool Settings

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Young Exceptional Children

DOI: 10.1177/109625060500900101

2005; 9; 2Young Exceptional Children Heidi L. Hollingsworth

Interventions to Promote Peer Social Interactions in Preschool Settings

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Interventions to Promote Peer SocialInteractions in Preschool Settings

Heidi L. HollingUniversity of North

It is free playtime outside. Janet,a preschool teacher, observesthe children playing in pairs orsmall groups and listens to theirconversations. Through theirinteractions, the children arelearning many skills for gettingalong with others. Janet isconcerned because four-year-old Marie does not interactwith her peers. Instead, she iswandering along the fence atthe perimeter of the playground.Janet has noticed that Mariespends much of her outsideplaytime wandering alone. Janethas also noticed that Marie rarelyinteracts with her peers in theclassroom. Janet knows thatincreased social interactionswould benefit Marie, but isunsure how to encourage Marieto interact with her peers.

Promoting interactions betweenpreschoolchildren is an importanttopic because peer social interactionsprovidea crucial context forchildrens development (Brown ,& Conroy, 2002). For example,

within social interactions with

peers, children developverbal skillsand learn about how to get alongwith others. However, many youngchildren experiencedifficultywithpeer relations, particularlychildrenwith disabilities (McConnell, 2002;Rogers,2000). Indeed, childrenwith disabilities have problemswithpeer interactions beyond difficultiesexpectedbased on developmentallevel(Guralnick, 2001a). As the field ofearlychildhood education has becomemore focused on academic issues,there has been concern among earlychildhood education professionalsthat this emphasiswill result in a lackof attention to other keydomains

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of development, includingsocialdevelopment (Kauerz & McMaken,2004), even though research indicatesthe importance of earlysocial-emotional development for schoolsuccess (Kauffman EarlyEducationExchange, 2002).

For children who have greatdifficultyinteracting with peers, earlyeducators must

plan,implement,and

monitor interventions to promotesocial interactions. This articledescribes the importance of peer socialinteractions for childrens developmentand then suggests how earlyeducatorscan intervene by:(1) setting up theenvironment, (2) teaching childrensocial interaction skills, and (3)involvingpeers in social interactioninterventions. Finally,generalguidelinesfor implementingtheseinterventions are provided.

Rationale,

Peer-related social competenceis critical for the integration of .children with disabilities in theclassroom and community and forchildrens development:&dquo;Improvedsocial competence is likelyto yieldbenefits for other, more fundamental

developmentaldomains, includingcognitive and communicative

developmentas well as various forms

of prosocialbehavior&dquo;(Guralnick,2001b, p. 483). Guralnick (2001b)defined peer-relatedsocial competenceas childrens ability to achievetheir interpersonalgoals.Theseinterpersonal goalsinclude socialtasks needed for peer play,such asplay entry, conflict resolution, andmaintaining play. Furthermore,social integration, one of the goalsofinclusion, transcends increased social

interactions to the development ofmeaningfulrelationshipsbetweenchildren with and without disabilities(Guralnick, 2001a). Social skillsinterventions have been found to

improve peer acceptance (i.e., howwell a child is liked by his or herpeers),and social interaction skills invarious contexts are hypothesizedto be

significantfor the

developmentof

friendships(i.e., dyadicrelationships)(Asher, Parker, & Walker, 1996). Moreresearch is needed, however, on how to

improve the friendshipcomponent of !..social competence (Asher et al., 1996).Social competence is more than justinteractions between children, but peerinteractions are indeed vital for the

development of childrens peer-relatedsocial competence.

The remainder of this article

providesexamplesof and specificguidelinesfor interventions topromote peer interactions in preschoolsettings.These recommendationsare based on a review of the researchliterature indicating that classroominterventions can indeed improve thepeer interactions of children, includingchildren with disabilities (e.g., Brown& Conroy, 2002; McConnell, 2002;Rogers,2000). The research literaturefocuses on children with a variety ofdisabilities and, in some cases, their

typicallydevelopingclassmates.

Setting Up theEnvironment

Although inclusive settings areassociated with increased socialinteractions for children withdisabilities, just havingtypicallydevelopingchildren in the classroomwithout additional interventions

may not be sufhcient for promoting

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Craig-Unkefer,Odom, and Johnson(1999) studied social integrationactivities involvingsmall teacher-arrangedgroups of children (i.e., onechild havingsocial difficulties andthree classmates); materials aroundcertain play themes (e.g.,dress-up,doctor, dinosaurs); and teacherdemonstration of how to playwiththe materials. This intervention was

successful in increasing the rate andduration of peer interactions for achild in their study. Similarly,otherresearchers arrangedsmall groupsof children including childrenhavingsocial difficulties and sociallycompetent children and found thatthis intervention was successful in

improving childrens peer socialinteractions when combined withteacher prompting (Filla,Wolery,&

Anthony, 1999). Thus, environmentalinterventions

may providean

important background for the othertypes of interventions.

~~=q

Teaching Children .Social interactionSkills

t..

The recommendations for teachingchildren social interaction skills

presented in Table 2 are drawn frominterventions that teach children skillsrelated to playing and interacting withother children. These interventionshave been successful in increasingthe access of children with autismto typicallydevelopingpeers andin increasing their abilityto playwith their peers (McConnell, 2002).Preschool-agechildren can be taughtto engage in dramatic play usingscripts for specificplay roles (Rogers,2000). For instance, children mightbe taught to use particularsocial

scripts for familiar characters such asa cashier and a customer in a grocerystore. An example script is providedin Table 3. For additional examplesof sociodramatic play scripts, seeGoldstein and Cisar (1992) andGoldstein, Wickstrom, Hoyson, ~Jameison, and Odom (1988).

Such play scripts can beindividualized accordingto a childs

developmentaland linguisticneeds(Goldstein & Cisar, 1992). In lines 3and 4 of the grocery store script, forexample (seeTable 3), the customermay simplypoint to the cupcakes

and say &dquo;Cupcakes?&dquo;or say, &dquo;Whatkind of cupcakesdo you have today?&dquoThe baker may respond, for example,&dquo;Greenand yellow,&dquo;or give a moreelaborate response such as &dquo;Wehave chocolate cupcakeswith pinkfrostingand white cupcakeswithlemon frostingand sprinkles.&dquo;Suchinterventions can increase the socialinteractions of children with and

without disabilities (Brown &Conroy, 2002).

Childrens social interactions with

peers can also be improved throughgroup coachingof social skills such

Table 3

Sample Sociodramatic Play Script



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and generalization. An example ofa peer-mediatedintervention thatchildren can be taught to use is peerincidental teaching.Peer incidentalteachingmight occur duringplaywhen a typicallydevelopingchildwho has been taught to do so: (1)notices that a child with a disabilitywants a certain toy, (2) asks the childwith a disabilityto name the toy,(3) gives the child the toy after it isnamed, and (4) praises the child fornaming the toy (McGee, Almeida,Sulzer-Azaroff, & Feldman, 1992).This intervention was successful in

promoting the interactions of childrenwith disabilities and also resulted in

improved peer acceptance for thechildren with and without disabilitiesinvolved (Odom et al., 1999). In theprevious study,typicallydevelopingchildren were also successfullytaughtto self-monitor their use of incidentalteachingusing charts on clipboards.

In another peer-mediatedintervention, Laushey and Heflin(2000) taught children with and .without disabilities to use a buddysystem in which they were taught tostay in the same play area and playwith their assignedbuddy,and totalk to their buddy while playing.This intervention resulted in increasesin interactions for children withdisabilities. Moreover, generalizationto other peers was built into theintervention in that all the classmateswere included and buddy assignmentswere changed daily.

Peer-mediated interventionshave resulted in improvements in thesocial interactions of children withdisabilities, but these interventionsdepend on the peers who are trainedin the interventions, and thesechildren may transition to different

classrooms (McConnell, 2002).McConnell suggests training multiplepeer exemplarsas a solution to thisproblem.Trainingseveral peers mayhelp children generalizerecentlylearned social skills to new personsand situations. Likewise, changingbuddy assignments regularlymay helpencourage children to generalizeskillsto numerous children (as in Laushey& Heflin, 2000). Table 4 summarizeskey recommendations from theresearch literature for implementingpeer-mediatedinterventions.

ImplementationGuidelines

The guidelinesprovidedin Table 5may be applied to all of the aboveinterventions for improving childrenspeer social interactions. To beginwith, children with social interaction

difficulties, particularlychildren .with disabilities, should be thefocus of attention since research has .

documented the social interactiondifficulties of young children with ..

disabilities (McConnell, 2002;Rogers,2000). However, involvingall children in intervention activitiesrather than singlingout children withdisabilities is recommended to prevent

possiblenegative effects on childrenspeer acceptance.

Interventions should focus on

specificbehaviors that are key forsuccessful peer social interactions

(Brown & Conroy, 2002). Landy(2002) identified three broadcategories of skills that are important .for positive peer social interactions:(1) skills for play entry, (2) skillsfor maintaining play and formingfriendships,and (3) skills for sharing .

and cooperating.Table 6 providesTable 5Intervention Implementation Guidelines



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more elaborated descriptionsof thebehaviors related to each of these

. broad skill categories.

,In making decisions about an

. individual childs intervention targets,

earlyeducators should consult withthe team of adults involved with thechild includingthe family,specialand generalearlyeducation teachers,and any related service personnel (asin Laushey & Heflin, 2000). Eachof these team members will bringdifferent perspectives to understandingthe childs current social competenceas well as his or her needs for skill

Table 6 .&dquo;

Key Social Interaction Skills for the Preschool Child

development to be successful acrossvarious social contexts.

In finalizingintervention targets,earlyeducators and team membersneed to observe children to gatherinformation about their current peerinteractions. Interventions shouldfocus on childrens actual behaviorsrather than on what adults thinkchildren should do (Rogers, 2000).Team members can compare whatchildren do with documented

developmentalpatterns of earlypeerrelationships,such as the developmentfrom parallelplay to simplesocialplay, cooperative social play,sophisticatedsocial interactions, andstable friendships:&dquo;Observationsofthe childs typicaland highest levelsof social playwith peers can providereasonable expectations when setting

goalsfor intervention&dquo;(Guralnick,20016, p. 488). Observation is alsorecommended so that the teamcan monitor the effectiveness ofinterventions for the child and make

necessary adjustments,becauseinterventions must be tailored toindividual children and modifiedacross time to reflect changesin childskills (Frea et al., 1999).

Another important interventionguideline is to try one intervention at atime, especiallyat first. Comprehensiveor combined interventions thatinvolve two or more interventions

may not necessarilybe more effective(McConnell, 2002). For example,classrooms assigned to comprehensiveinterventions in the Odom et al.(1999) study incorporatedbothenvironmental interventions and

group social skills coaching.Results ofthe study showed that comprehensiveinterventions were not as effective as



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might have been expected, and theauthors suggestedthat perhapstheseinterventions were too demanding ofteachers time. Beginning with justone intervention is more likelyto befeasible in a typicalpreschoolsetting.

Implementing an intervention inmore than one placesimultaneously,on the other hand, may

helpencourage children to generalizewhat they have learned to a varietyof situations and may help childrenremember what they have learned overtime. Generalization and maintenanceof intervention results were notedto be problem areas by Brown andConroy (2002). Having childrenpractice social skills in the classroom,on the playground,on field trips, andduringsnacks and meals may helpaddress these problems.

Finally,all adults working with thechildren, including paraprofessionals,volunteers, or other classroom helpers,should be trained to conduct theinterventions and to observe childrento determine how well interventionsare working.Several of the researchreports reviewed in preparation for thisarticle involved the use of classroomassistants to implement interventionsand/or collect data about childrensbehaviors (e.g.,Laushey& Heflin,2000; Storey,Smith, & Strain, 1993).Classroom assistants reported theseinterventions to be acceptableandfeasible in the classroom (Laushey &Heflin, 2000; Storeyet al., 1993).Teachers have many demands on theirtime and involvingparaprofessionalsand other adults in the classroom mayhelp encourage the consistent use ofinterventions to promote childrenssocial interactions.

Conclusion

Returning to the vignette, rememberthat Janet, Maries preschoolteacher, has recognizedthat Marie

.

would benefit from increased socialinteractions with her peers. -

After several days of observingMarie in the classroom and

outdoors, Janet decides to trysome interventions to promoteMaries peer social interactions.First, Janet sets up the physicaland social environment. While

observing, Janet noticesthat Marie seems to like herclassmate Sondra and oftenwatches Sondra playing withother children. Janet also knowsthat Marie and her classmateKayla both have baby sisters andlike to play with dolls. To set upthe environment, Janet preparesa set of materials around thetheme &dquo;babysbedtime routine,&dquo;and arranges for a playgroupincluding Marie, Sondra, andKayla to play with the materials inthe housekeeping area for sometime each day.

After implementing thisintervention, observing forseveral days, and realizingthat Marie is playing with thematerials but still not interactingwith the other two children,Janet implements anotherintervention. This time, sheteaches Marie, Sondra, andKayla a sociodramatic play scriptrelating to the theme. The scriptinvolves three characters helpingeach other to give Baby a bath,dress Baby in pajamas, andread a bedtime story to Baby.



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McConnell, S. R. (2002). Interventions to facilitatesocial interaction for young children with autism:Review of available research and recommendationsfor educational intervention and future research.

Journalof Autismand DevelopmentalDisorders, 32,351-372.

McGee, G. G., Almeida, C., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., &Feldman, R. S. (1992). Promoting reciprocalinteractions via peer incidental teaching.Journal of

Applied Behavior Analysis,25,117-12G.Odom, S. L., McConnell, S. F., McEvoy,M. A.,

Peterson, C., Ostrosky, M., Chandler, L. K., et al.(1999). Relative effects of interventions supportingthe social competence of young children withdisabilities. Topicsin EarlyChildhood SpecialEducation, 19,75-91.

Rogers,S. J. (2000). Interventions that facilitatesocialization in children with autism.

Journal of Autism and DevelopmentalDisorders, 30, 399-409.Sainato, D. M., & Carta, J. J. (1992). Classroom

influences on the development of social competencein young children with disabilities. In S. L. Odom,S. R. McConnell, & M. A. McEvoy(Eds.), Socialcompetence of youngchildren with disabilities: Issuesand strategies forintervention (pp. 93-109). Baltimore:Paul H. Brookes.

Skinner, M. L., Buysse,V, & Bailey,D. B. (2004).Effects of age and developmentalstatus of partnerson play of preschoolerswith disabilities. JournalofEarlyIntervention, 26, 194-203.

Storey,K., Smith, D. J., & Strain, P. S. (1993). Use ofclassroom assistants and peer-mediatedinterventionto increase integration in preschoolsettings.Exceptionality,4, 1-16.

Table 7 Additional Intervention Resources


interventions to promote peer social interactions in preschool settings

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