Examining the Effectiveness of Social Skills Training on Social Development and Assertiveness of Educable Intellectually Disabled Female Students in Shahrekord
Keywords:
Social skills training,, social development, maladaptive behavior, assertiveness, educable mentally retarded students, ShahrekordAbstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of social skills training on the social development and assertiveness of educable intellectually disabled female students in Shahrekord. This research was conducted using a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group. Data were collected through two standardized instruments: the Social Development Test and the Assertiveness Test. In this study, the experimental group received social skills training, while the control group did not receive any training. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results indicated that social skills training had a significant effect on social development (F = 17.35, p = 0.001) and assertiveness (F = 14.02, p = 0.001) of the students in the experimental group. The effect size for both social development and assertiveness was reported as 0.41 and 0.36, respectively, which demonstrates the strong impact of social skills training on these two components. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that social skills training plays an effective role in improving the social and communicative behaviors of educable intellectually disabled female students. These results highlight the importance of providing social skills training for this group of students and may serve as a foundation for designing effective educational programs in special schools for such students.
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