critical social skills for adolescents wtih high incidence disabilities: parental perspectives

Curricula for students with dis-abilities can be divided intoacademic and nonacademicareas. Social competence andsocial skills are considered

within the nonacademic areas. Traditionally, theemphasis on social skills has been overshadowedby academics. However, many educators ac-knowledge the need for an increased emphasis onsocial skills development to promote greater so-cial competence for students with high-incidencedisabilities (Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001;Ogilvy, 1994).

Social skills are often defined as a complexset of skills that include communication, prob-lem-solving and decision making, assertion, peerand group interaction, and self-management(Haager & Vaughn, 1995; Sugai & Lewis, 1996).These skills are “competencies necessary for stu-

dents to initiate and maintain positive social rela-tionships with peers, teachers, family, and othercommunity members” (Quinn, Jannasch-Pennell,& Rutherford, 1995, p. 27).

During adolescence, prosocial behaviors arebeing tested and refined based upon positive andnegative social encounters students experiencedaily (Schloss, 1984). There is evidence that dur-ing this time of development, social skills’ train-ing has a profound impact in positivelyinfluencing an adolescent’s behavior (Taylor &Larson, 1999). As such, it is appropriate to ad-dress social skill development during adolescence.However, current curricula related to social skillsreveal little consensus on what content is criticalto the success of the student.

There are multiple ways to identify poten-tially important social skills. One way is to solicitinput from the adults in the lives of children. Par-

163Exceptional Children

Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 163-179.©2003 Council for Exceptional Children.

Critical Social Skills forAdolescents With High IncidenceDisabilities: Parental Perspectives

SHARON M. KOLBUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater

CHERYL HANLEY-MAXWELLUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

ABSTRACT: This qualitative research explored parental views about critical social skills for adoles-cents with high-incidence disabilities. Parents in this study shared their beliefs that emotional in-telligence and character play critical roles in the social and emotional development of theirchildren. Findings indicate that although parents agree that academic performance is important,they want their children to develop skills in two major areas: (a) interpersonal and intrapersonalskills, which include skills such as communicating, listening, interpreting, and discerning; and (b)moral development, which includes areas of character, empathy, and perseverance/motivation.

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164 Winter 2003

ents and teachers are two such sources since theyare influential in children’s lives and are able toprovide essential information about their children(Ruffalo & Elliott, 1997). Because parents ob-serve children’s social behavior in a variety of set-tings and situations, they can provide valuableinformation in reference to children’s social skills(Ruffalo & Elliott). However, a review of existingliterature reveals that although teachers’ and stu-dents’ perceptions are examined in various studies(Baumgart, Filler, & Askvig, 1991; Pray, Hall, &Markley, 1992; Sugai & Lewis, 1996), few studieshave sought the direct input of parents in identi-fying critical social skills that should be includedin school curriculum and programs (Haager &Vaughn, 1995). This is unfortunate because par-ents are essential participants in the educationalsuccess of their children (Pryor, 1995).

Research has also stressed the importance ofparental participation in enhancing the acquisi-tion, generalization, and maintenance of socialskills (Haager & Vaughn, 1995; Schloss, 1984;Sugai & Lewis, 1996), and in planning socialskills training for students (Schloss). However, thefocus is usually on parents providing support tothe designated program, not necessarily on theidentification of skills or the development of pro-grams that target specific social skills. There is aclear distinction between merely involving parentsin the implementation of social skills training anddirect parent participation in the origin and fol-low-up of the program.

Parental inclusion in all aspects of socialskill programming may result in the identificationof different skills or skill levels than those skillsfound in teacher-created programs. Teachers areconcerned about appropriate classroom behaviorand traditionally place greater emphasis in target-ing prosocial skills that specifically address appro-

priate social behaviors needed in the classroomsetting (Schloss, 1984). However, appropriateclassroom behaviors are only a small reflection ofthe social skills needed to be socially competent.Thus, parental participation in the process of es-sential skill identification is an important consid-eration. This participation is not restricted toparents of a certain age group or level in school.In fact, parental involvement in the education oftheir children continues to be important through-out adolescence. Even though peer influence andapproval have an increasingly important role foradolescents, parental influence still has a signifi-cant impact on students (Quinn et al., 1995; Ruf-falo & Elliot, 1997). Adolescence is a time ofgreat learning and growing for students.

This study refined our understanding ofwhich social skills are critical to acquire duringadolescence and maintain throughout adulthood.More specifically, this study focused on providinginsight into parents’ perspectives of the critical so-cial skills needed by adolescents with high-inci-dence disabilities as they move through theiradolescence and into adulthood. Therefore, theresearch questions addressed in this study were:

• What do parents think is the meaning of theterm “social skills”?

• What do parents think are critical social skillsthat should and should not be included in theirchild’s education to prepare students to success-fully negotiate adolescence and adult life?

M E T H O D O L O G Y

RE S E A R C H DE S I G N

Qualitative research is a multimethod approach tostudying phenomena in their natural settings. Todo this, the qualitative researcher uses interpretiveand naturalistic methods. The purpose of a quali-tative study is to make sense of, or interpret, interms of the meanings people bring to the phe-nomenon under study (Denzin & Lincoln,1994). Qualitative methods were selected for usein this study because the first author was inter-ested in discovering and describing parentalmeanings/perspectives of social skills for her ado-lescent children. Furthermore, because no existingtheory of social skills accounted for parental

Traditionally, the emphasis on socialskills has been overshadowed by academics.However, many educators acknowledgethe need for an increased emphasis onsocial skills development to promotegreater social competence for studentswith high-incidence disabilities.



views, we selected the grounded theory approachto qualitative research. According to Strauss andCorbin (1990), a researcher should use groundedtheory when “you want to explain phenomena inlight of a theoretical framework that evolves dur-ing the research itself [and not a] previously de-veloped theory that may or may not apply” (pp.49-50). Thus, we felt that grounded theory wasuniquely suited to helping us answer the ques-tions of this investigation.

SA M P L I N G

The participants in this study were parents of stu-dents who received special education services in asmall midwestern city school district. The sampleof parents was drawn from the parents of childrenwho attended the middle school in this districtand who had high-incidence disabilities. Usingconvenience and purposeful sampling (Bogdan &Biklen, 1992), participants were selected from thelarger population of parents represented at thisschool. The sampling frame included only thoseparents of adolescents who had high-incidencedisabilities.

All potential participants resided within theperimeters of Lake School District (pseudonym),located in a midwestern city of approximately14,000 citizens. In this community, there is onepublic high school, one middle school, and sevenelementary schools. The total student populationin this district is approximately 3,400. The totalnumber of students at the middle school is 739.Of the middle school population, the studentpopulation is 95% white, with 5% representingminority populations.

Potential participants were parents of stu-dents with high-incidence disabilities in grades 6through 9 from the middle school. Students wereidentified as having a mild disability as indicatedon their individualized education program (IEP).High-incidence disabilities include the labels of

learning disabilities, mild cognitive disabilities(mental retardation), and emotional or behavioraldisabilities. Table 1 displays the demographic datarelated to the primary disability labels of studentsenrolled in Lake Middle School.

Parents were contacted in writing or bytelephone to request their participation in the in-terviews. A total of 11 parents returned consentforms indicating their decision to participate inthis study. Although data collection began withthose 11, we planned to solicit more participantsas needed to obtain theoretical saturation. Be-cause theoretical saturation was achieved beforethe completion of the 11 interviews, no addi-tional parents were sought.

PA RT I C I PA N T S

The 11 participants of this study were parents to7 students. They included 3 married couples (6participants representing 3 students), 1 divorcedcouple (2 participants representing 1 student),and 3 mothers (3 participants representing 3other students). At the time of the study, thesestudents ranged in age from 12 to 14 years; sixhad cognitive disabilities, three had learning dis-abilities, and two had emotional disabilities. Table2 describes each participant in terms of name (bypseudonym); marital status; and the names, agesand primary disability label of their children.

Although the sample is representative of thecommunity population, it is not representative ofall parents of adolescents with disabilities. How-ever, the intention of this study is to use this sam-ple of convenience to begin investigating parentperceptions of social skills.

DATA CO L L E C T I O N

Data collection occurred during the 1998-1999school year at Lake Middle School. Qualitative re-search is descriptive and typically nonnumeric(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Therefore, data werecollected in the form of in-depth semistructuredinterviews, interview transcripts, phone conversa-tions, informal talks, and field notes (Bogdan &Biklen). Interviewing began the summer of 1998and concluded the fall semester of 1999 whendata saturation occurred.

The data collected for this study were col-lected through in-depth interviews (Taylor & Bog-dan, 1984) with participating parents and field


Research has also stressed the importanceof parental participation in enhancingthe acquisition, generalization, andmaintenance of social skills and inplanning social skills training for students(Schloss, 1984).



notes completed by the interviewer after each inter-view. The interviewer used an open-ended protocolto ensure complete coverage of the social skills topic(Taylor & Bogdan). The protocol used in this studycovered the meaning of “social skills,” potential andcritical social skills identification, and parents’ expe-riences and perceptions of necessary components ofsocial skills training.

Interview Protocol. The interview protocolwas developed prior to the beginning of data col-lection. A three-step process helped to identify andrefine the content. First, the first author reviewedthe existing social skills literature and commerciallyavailable social skills curricula. A tentative list oftopics was developed and the initial protocol waswritten. This interview protocol was designed withopen-ended questions to help elicit open responsesfrom participants. Second, an expert panel consist-ing of three university researchers specializing intransition, qualitative research, and social skills re-viewed the initial protocol to determine clarity andcompleteness. Third, to help ensure greater reliabil-ity of the interview questions, initial interviewswere used to determine what adjustments were

needed to ensure the clarity of the interview guide(Fowler, 1998). Additionally, the information ob-tained from each of the interviews helped to shapethe questions used during that interview and insubsequent interviews.

Interviewing. The first author conducted allthe interviews. Each interview occurred at a placeand time convenient for each parent. Four inter-views were conducted at parents’ homes and sixwere conducted at the middle school. One inter-view was conducted at a parent’s place of employ-ment. A tape recorder was used during theinterviews (all parents agreed to taping). The result-ing audiotapes were transcribed verbatim by a pro-fessional transcription service in a different city.

Each interview began with a broad, open-ended question. The interviewer used the writtenprotocol only when needed to guide the partici-pants into talking about topics of interest to theresearcher. The formal interviews typically lasted1 hour. However, the interviewer also spent timebefore and after each interview informally talkingwith participants, both in person and on the tele-phone. The total formal and informal contact

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with each parent ranged from 3 to 4 hours.Therefore, the total contact time spent with theparticipants was approximately 39 hours.

Field Notes. To ensure greater accuracy inrecording and evaluating data from the inter-views, the interviewer wrote notes immediatelyafter each interview to summarize key points(Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). Field notes wererecords of both significant reflective and descrip-tive notes and the amount of time spent witheach participant (Bodgan & Biklen, 1992). Thedata collection tools of interviewing, transcriptevaluation, and field notes were helpful in provid-ing a comprehensive record of the inquiry.

D A T A A N A L Y S I S A N D

I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

Data analysis requires the systematic search andorganization of data obtained from interviews andfield notes to increase the researchers’ understand-ing of the problem being explored (Bogdan &Biklen, 1992). In a grounded theory approach,the process of reducing the data into manageableunits and codes is an integral part of the analysisprocess (Miles & Huberman, 1984). Therefore,for the purposes of analysis, the processes of datareduction and coding were used to obtain adeeper understanding of the data collectedthroughout this study.

Data reduction is a form of analysis usedto combine pieces of information into variouscategories (Miles & Huberman, 1984). We se-lected coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) as theanalytic method we would use to reduce thedata. Three levels of coding were applied: (a)open coding, (b) axial coding, and (c) selectivecoding (Strauss & Corbin).

During open coding, we examined the inter-view transcripts, highlighting skills, and subjectsand concepts parents identified and developed ini-tial codes. These codes were generated by examin-ing and comparing the highlighted data to reflectbroad categories (e.g., communication, self-concept,respect, friendship). In axial coding, data weresorted and reorganized inductively and deductivelyby chunking and clustering data into similar cate-gories and then reorganizing data to identify anyconnections between or among categories and sub-

categories (e.g., self-awareness, problem-solving,managing emotions, and self-control). In the finalstage of coding, selective coding, core categorieswere systematically selected and related to other cat-egories in order to validate relationships and iden-tify categories that needed more exploration (e.g.,interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, habits ofmind, moral development, and character). After ap-plying these levels of analysis through the processesof integrating, weaving, and refining the major cate-gories, the grounded theory of this study began toemerge (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Finally, as amember check, highlights of the final analysis draftwere reviewed with the participants to ensure accu-racy of responses and interpretation of perspectives(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). The selected highlightswere the participants’ original quotes organized intothemes discovered through the process of coding.

ACCURACY, TRUSTWORTHINESS,

A N D F I D E L I T Y

Establishing accuracy, trustworthiness, and fi-delity are major factors in reflecting the integrityof the research project (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992).These issues were addressed in both the designand implementation of the research. During im-plementation, we attended to interviewer rapport,complete and accurate record keeping, and com-pleteness in data collection to increase credibility.We began by addressing the rapport between theinterviewer and the informants. The interviewerused her previously established relationship withthe participants and the additional time spent inthe preinterview period to develop a rapport witheach participant and to explain the intent of thestudy (Glesne & Peshkin).

Next, all interviews were tape-recordedand transcribed verbatim (Bogdan & Biklen,1992). Additionally, we enhanced the confirma-bility of our interpretations by including thewritten field notes and a reflexive log. The re-flexive log included the interviewer’s feelings,concerns, and ideas related to the study. This logallowed us to identify her personal perspectivesand to track her thinking as she tested ideas(Conrad, 1993). Eventually, the data collectedfrom the interviews seem to become more inte-grated and redundant. Glesne and Peshkin

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(1992) identified this stage of data analysis asreaching theoretical saturation. Within the de-sign, we included three specific procedures de-signed to assure fidelity of our interpretations:(a) triangulation, (b) member checks, and (c)peer debriefing (Glesne & Peshkin). Each ofthese is discussed in the following sections.

TR I A N G U L AT I O N

“Multiple sources of data may include various“copies” of one kind of source, such as multiple par-ticipants, and different sources of the same informa-tion” (Whitt & Kuh, 1993, p. 261). Multiplesources of data included in-depth interviews with 11participants, field notes, telephone conversations,and other informal discussions with participants.

ME M B E R CH E C K S

After extensive data analysis, postcards weremailed to participants thanking them for theirparticipation and asking their permission to con-tact them for additional feedback on the dataanalysis. All participants received a draft of thepreliminary analysis. One parent met with thefirst author to discuss these initial findings; an-other seven were contacted via telephone andasked if the initial analysis accurately reflectedtheir ideas and feelings about critical social skills.This gave the participants an additional opportu-nity to comment and contribute to the data.

PE E R DE B R I E F I N G

We used peer debriefing for two purposes. The firstpurpose was to review the interviewing process.Using a form that covered clarity of questions, ef-fectiveness and accuracy of interviewing technique,and content of the interviews, peer debriefers pro-vided constructive comments and suggestions forchange. In a second round of debriefing, peer de-briefers served as accuracy checks for discussions ofvarious conceptual themes that arose during datacollection and analysis.

L I M I T A T I O N S

Although the research problem was used to helpdetermine the study’s design, some threats to va-lidity of this qualitative model and methodshould be considered. These are the participant

sample and the influence of the researcher as theinstrument. The use of purposive or conveniencesampling may produce a biased sample (Bogdan& Biklen, 1992). The sample of participants inthis study is only as diversified as the demograph-ics of the community in which the sample repre-sented. Because each community and family isunique, this convenience sample may not be rep-resentative of other parents who have childrenwith high incidence disabilities.

The researcher as the instrument is also apossible threat to validity because each individualcarries some form of bias. However, being awareof one’s individual worldview and personal bias isan active step in removing oneself from influenc-ing the study (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Duringeach interview, the interviewer took notes aboutimpressions and interpretation of what was beingdiscussed. Throughout data analysis, we referredto these notes and cross-referenced them with theactual transcript of the interview. This strategy,suggested by Bogdan and Biklen, helped inhibitthe interjection of bias by examining subjectivereflection on what was being perceived during thestudy. Another strategy we employed to help pro-tect against individual bias was to have the analy-sis critiqued by other colleagues throughout thestudy (Bogdan & Biklen). During the data collec-tion and coding processes, we scheduled confer-ences with various colleagues (i.e., special andgeneral middle school educators; university pro-fessors, and special education doctoral students)to seek their feedback regarding the analytic tech-niques and the interpretation of data.

R E S U L T S A N D D I S C U S S I O N

Social skills deficits are some of the major difficul-ties facing adolescents with disabilities (Hall,Schlesinger, & Dineen, 1997; Pray et al., 1992).For that reason, adolescence is an important timefor social skills training and intervention (Ogilvy,1994). Parents concur that this is an essential ac-tivity during this developmental period (Haager& Vaughn, 1995). Parents in this study con-tributed their thoughts and suggestions aboutwhat skills and methods they feel are critical tothe social development of their adolescent sonsand daughters. Specifically, they addressed the



meaning of the term “social skills” and the identi-fication of critical social skills. In addition to ad-dressing the research questions, parents provideda significant amount of data for effectively teach-ing social skills.

PARENTAL DEFINITIONS OF

SOCIAL S K I L L S

Our first task in interviewing the parents was todetermine how parents defined the term “socialskills” and to verify a common understanding ofwhat was being discussed throughout the inter-views. There was a considerable amount of over-lap in the terms parents generated and defined inthis study. We found that they were indeed famil-iar with the term “social skills” and defined thephrase in two ways: (a) getting along with others,and (b) exhibiting traits of character.

GE T T I N G ALO N G WI T H OT H E R S

A major emphasis in the parental definitions ofsocial skills was the ability to get along withothers, including the skills needed to developrelationships and friendships. In fact, over 70%of parents defined social skills in this manner.Each parent had a unique constellation of skillsthat accompanied his definition of social skillsas getting along with others. For instance,whereas Sara described social skills as the “abil-ity to get along with other kids [and] to be ableto socialize,” Carl included “cooperat[ing] withand interact[ing] with others.” However, allseven parents who characterized social skills inthis manner felt that the ability to interact posi-tively with others summarized their meaning ofthe term social skills.

Nested within the category of “gettingalong with others” was peer relationships. Peer re-lationships posed special concerns for these par-ents. All of them agreed that it was critical fortheir adolescents to develop satisfying relation-ships. However, all were equally aware of the po-tential for rejection and accompanying emotionalpain. Connie’s comments were typical of the con-cerns these parent expressed when they talkedabout the need for their children to develop satis-fying relationships. She spoke for many of theparents when she said:

It’s an area that she hasn’t been . . . [very success-ful]. I think she’s been rejected and not a part of[peer social activities], and it hasn’t been untilthis school year that anyone has even called heron the phone or that she has been invited overto a friend’s house. . . . I think that’s somethingkids need before this age. She’s now 15, for herit’s working. It will be ok. . . . I mean eventhough when we’re not accepted, I think the kidstill knows it. They’ll feel it. (Connie)

Despite the risks involved, the parents reportedthat they wanted their children “to take risk[s]and ask someone to be [their] friend eventhough [they] might be rejected” (Connie).They were well aware that their children hadfailed to have some of the needed social compe-tencies to initiate and maintain friendships.Thus, they felt that their children should learnthe skills needed to establish these relationshipsand to have the confidence to take the risks topursue friendships. Parents identified specificskills that they felt their children needed to de-velop successful relationships: (a) proficiency inthe ability to discern the motives of others, (b)skills in communication, (c) empathy, and (d)skills in interpreting social cues.

Typically, the areas of empathy, discern-ment, and interpreting social cues are infre-quently addressed in social skill training programsand curricula, not because writers do not feel thatthese skills are critical, but because these skills areoften considered higher cognitive and affectiveskills. Therefore, some individuals may believethese skills are too abstract for students with dis-abilities to conceptualize and generalize (Arthur,Bochner, & Butterfield, 1999). Nonetheless, par-ents in this study unanimously agreed that stu-dents with disabilities need to develop the criticalskills of intuition, discernment, and empathy.One father provided an example as to why it isimportant for his son to have the “ability to dis-cern [the] motives of others” (Paul):


A major emphasis in the parentaldefinitions of social skills was the abilityto get along with others, including theskills needed to develop relationshipsand friendships.



Nathan does not assign negative motives to any-

body. That has been a problem at school in the

past where he would do something well-mean-

ing but it [would] come back to hurt him. [Be-

cause] he has not the slightest indication of [the

realities of ] everyone else, he runs the risk of

being hurt. (Paul)

CH A R AC T E R

A major emphasis of the participants’ definition

of social skills involved aspects of character. In

this study, four parents directly connected their

meaning of social skills with qualities of character.

One of the parents discussed the components in

the district’s character education program: respect,

responsibility, fairness, citizenship, trustworthi-

ness, and making good decisions. Even though

the remaining seven parents did not directly use

the term “character,” they referred to one or more

of the above qualities of character. Jenny spoke for

many of the parents when she explained how

there was a connection between caring and re-

spect. “If you care for other people, you care for

their property; you care for the people for who

they are and what they have to offer” (Jenny).

Specifically, parents identified the character traits

of respect, responsibility, and caring as critical so-

cial skills for adolescents. They stated that these

character traits, along with skill in empathy and

motivation, are as important in the definition of

social skills as the ability to get along with others.

Parental definitions of social skills reflect

some of the dimensions addressed within the the-

ory of emotional intelligence described by Daniel

Goleman (1995). Emotional intelligence is the

ability to access and interpret a given situation ac-

curately and then to manage oneself to relate ef-

fectively with others (Goleman; Pool, 1997).

There are five dimensions of emotional intelli-

gence: self-awareness, managing emotions or self-

control, motivation, recognizing emotions in

others, and handling relationships (Bellack, 1999;

Goleman).

Although the work on emotional intelli-gence encompasses many of the areas the studyparticipants identified, the results of this study donot exactly match Goleman’s theory of emotionalintelligence. The introduction of the term charac-ter and the importance of displaying aspects ofgood character extend Goleman’s theory. How-ever, Goleman’s work does support the specific so-cial skills parents identified as critical:self-awareness, empathy, self-motivation, self-con-trol, and handling relationships.

Parental definitions of social skills also re-flect similar dimensions addressed in self-deter-mination ski l l s . Wehmeyer and Schwartz(1998) listed eight components of self-determi-nation. Study participants identified five of theeight (problem-solving, decision making, self-regulation, self-awareness and knowledge, andself-advocacy and leadership). They addressedthese components specifically and generallywithin the context of their identification anddiscussion of three intra/interpersonal skillsthey thought were most critical to adult life:self-control and management, self-knowledgeand awareness, and handling relationships andgetting along. However, these matches were fre-quently not exact, with the social skills focusingmore on emotions, character, and relationships.Self-determination diverges from these areas toinclude choice making, risk- taking and safety,and goal-setting and attainment (Browder,Wood, Test, Karvonen, & Algozzine, 2001;Wehmeyer & Schwartz) and focuses on the useof the “intersecting skills” in applications thatextend beyond relationships. The skills identi-fied by study participants also include two ad-dit ional ski l l s beyond those they have incommon with self-determination: empathyand moral development (i.e., character, motiva-tion, and self-efficacy). Thus, although bothareas cover some similar skills, they divergefrom each other to form their own constella-tions of skills.

The next section addresses the constellationof skills identified by parents in this study. Theseskills include those that intersect with emotionalintelligence and self-determination and those thatextend beyond these areas.



C R I T I C A L S K I L L S

As parents provided their definitions of socialskills, critical skill areas began to emerge. Theseskill areas fell into two broad categories: (a) inter-personal and intrapersonal skills, and (b) moraldevelopment. Thus, these categories form theframework of this section.

IN T E R PE R S O N A L A N D IN T R A PE R S O N A L

Interpersonal skills involve the interpretation ofsocial interactions with others. The combinationof various skills such as listening, communicating,discerning, and interpreting, help individuals bet-ter relate and interact with other individuals(Goleman, 1995; Taylor & Larson, 1999). Intra-personal skills primarily involve traits or states ofindividuals that help form his or her personality.Self-knowledge is a fundamental component inintrapersonal awareness that helps lead to greaterknowledge of and access to personal feelings(Goleman; Taylor & Larson). The critical skillsparents identified as major areas in the category ofinterpersonal and intrapersonal skills are (a) self-awareness, (b) self-control or self-management ofemotions, (c) empathy or recognizing emotions inothers, and (d) handling relationships or gettingalong with others. Parents believed these skills arenecessary for their children to develop strongerinterpersonal and intrapersonal competency.

Self-Awareness. At an early age, children be-come more aware of their feelings (Vollmer,Drook, & Harned, 1999) and accurately inter-preting these feelings is an initial step in learningto become emotionally intelligent (Goleman,1995; Pool, 1997). Self-awareness, the ability torecognize personal emotions (Pool), is a reflexiveprocess that incorporates personal self-efficacy,self-concept, and self-esteem.

Throughout the interviews, parents oftenmentioned the terms of self-esteem, self-worth,self-concept, and self-confidence. Although wedid not seek specific definitions of these terms,the first author asked parents to provide examplesof how these terms related to the social develop-ment of their children. Parents stated that chil-dren must develop a “realistic self-image” (Paul)and be aware of their own self-perceptions. Par-ents were concerned about the emotional and so-cial development of their children and explained

how important it was for their sons and daughterswith high-incidence disabilities to have greaterself-confidence as well as have positive feelingsabout themselves and their abilities.

In part, students learn self-awareness by un-derstanding, controlling, and expressing theirthoughts and feelings (Taylor & Larson, 1999).Although becoming more aware of one’s self ismore reflective of personal competence (Bellack,1999), lessons can be taught to provide greateropportunities to examine inner thoughts and feel-ings (Taylor & Larson). Wendy shared how im-portant it was for her son to “express his feelings[and] what he’s thinking” so that he can bettercontrol his emotions. By becoming more aware ofthese emotions, Wendy’s son and other studentsare then able to learn to better manage or regulatetheir own emotions.

Self-Control: Managing Emotions. The abil-ity to manage one’s emotions is directly connectedto self-regulation (Bellack, 1999) and is the sec-ond dimension of emotional intelligence identi-fied by Goleman (1995). The parents’ commentsreflect Goleman’s ideas in this second dimension.They believe that if adolescents learn strategies forbetter self-control, they will be better able to in-teract positively with others and constructively re-solve conflicts. Enhanced self-control would resultin higher levels of emotional intelligence. Higherlevels of emotional intelligence have been foundto be related to better skills in coping with nega-tive emotions and can readily generate positiveemotions (Miller, 1997). Parents identified the sixfactors that they believe were needed to be effec-tive in self-control: initiative, enthusiasm, opti-mism, accountability, commitment, andself-confidence. They felt that the development ofthese skills would enhance the social developmentof their children. These parental views are consis-tent with findings in other studies in which theseelements were identified as skills that assist stu-dents with managing their emotions (Caldarella& Merrell, 1997; Goleman, 1995, Goleman,1999; Haager & Vaughn, 1995; Sheridan, Dee,Morgan, McCormick, & Walker, 1996).

Parents also identified the importance ofproblem-solving and decision-making skills in ef-fectively self-managing emotions. Their concernsare confirmed by research that identifies bothproblem-solving and decision-making skills as



processes that facilitate self-management (Snyder& Bambara, 1997) and enhance self-efficacy(Scheier & Botvin, 1998). Problem-solving, oftenviewed as an interpersonal skill (Ogilvy, 1994;Quinn et al., 1995), involves five steps: (a) recog-nizing there is a problem, (b) identifying solu-tions, (c) selecting the best solution, (d) takingaction on the decided selection, and (e) evaluatingthe outcome (Hall et al., 1997; Hepler, 1994; Ko-rinek & Popp, 1997; Sheridan et al., 1996).When parent responses are considered within thecontext of these steps, parents verified the criticalneed for their children to develop skills in prob-lem identification and generating solutions andoutcomes. In summary, parents agreed that theskills of self-regulation and self-control, which in-corporate the areas of problem-solving, decisionmaking, and managing emotions should be ad-dressed in social skills programs. Ironically, al-though parents were concerned that their childrenlearn to deal with their own emotions, they weremore concerned that their children understandthe feelings and perspectives of their peers.

Empathy: Recognizing Emotions in Others.The third area of need identified by parents wasanother of Goleman’s emotional intelligence di-mensions, recognizing emotions in others. If theirchildren are to have competence in this dimension,parents stated that their children must exerciseskills in empathy, effective communication, and lis-tening. Pam reflected parental emphasis on theneed for empathy: “[he needs] to be able to walk amile in the other guy’s shoes. Empathy, I suppose,would be a way of expressing that, and it’s just sovery important when you’re relating to people to beable to accommodate whomever you run across.”

Parents further explained how empathy, theability to interpret what and how another personfeels, is a skill that allows students to relate and in-teract more effectively with their peers. Again, Pamcaptured their feelings by stating, “I would wish forhim to be able to understand the world he lives ina little bit better, how these other kids [think].What are their criteria? What are they looking for?What’s going to be a negative to them and what’sgoing to be a positive? And for him to be able tounderstand where that line is.” Several studies(Bellack, 1999; Miller, 1997; Vollmer, Drook, &Harned, 1999) support the critical role of empathyin developing social competence.

Parents also indicated that they believedthat their child’s skills in empathy, intuition, anddiscernment were important in accurately inter-preting nonverbal messages. Goleman (1995) sug-gested these parents felt that interpretingnonverbal cues such as facial expressions, vocaltones, and body language were necessary skills tohave when trying to recognize emotions in others.Furthermore, they believed that learning how torecognize the emotions of others is needed to re-spond appropriately in social situations and per-sonal relationships.

Handling Relationships: Getting Along WithOthers. The final inter/intrapersonal skills identi-fied by parent informants parallels Goleman’s(1995) fifth dimension of emotional intelligence,handling relationships. This dimension is the areathat Goleman specifically calls “social skills”; how-ever, these parents and other researchers believethat social skills encompass more than handlingrelationships (Baumgart et al., 1991; Hall et al.,1997; Hepler, 1994). Social skills encompass areassuch as interpersonal effectiveness (Goleman), es-tablishing and maintaining relationships (Miller,1997), and resolving conflict (Bellack, 1999) tohelp promote positive relations with others.

Parents specifically identified the ability toget along with others as a critical social skill.Three themes emerged from what parents feltwere crucial skills to learn to aid in getting alongwith others: (a) students need to have improvedsocial interaction skills, (b) students need to prac-tice more self-assertion, and (c) students need bet-ter relationship and friendship skills.

Consistent with the findings of Sheridan etal. (1996), parents identified that improving so-cial interaction skills are needed to help studentsinteract more appropriately with others. Specifi-cally, students need to be able to interpret the dy-namics of social interactions to assist them in

172 Winter 2003

Ironically, although parents wereconcerned that their children learn todeal with their own emotions, they weremore concerned that their childrenunderstand the feelings and perspectivesof their peers.



discerning the motives of others and to correctlyunderstand nonverbal social cues. Similar to theparental responses, Harrington-Lueker (1997)found that promoting opportunities for positivepeer interaction and social training experiencesfor adolescent students helps establish the founda-tion for improved social interaction throughoutadolescence and beyond.

Assertion, a second area identified bythese parents, is also an important social skillfor students with high-incidence disabilities(Haager & Vaughn, 1995). Assertiveness is theability to effectively meet one’s need through ex-pression while respecting the rights of others(Thompson, Bundy, & Broncheau, 1995). Be-havioral aspects of assertion include initiatingconversations, giving and receive compliments,and responding appropriately to comments(Hepler, 1994). Thompson et al. report thatthrough social skills training adolescents canlearn assertion skills.

Finally, all parents agreed that relationshipsare critical to the social and emotional develop-ment of adolescent students. In particular, parentsreported the need to develop positive peer rela-tions as significant in the social development oftheir adolescents. Parents want their children tohave rewarding interpersonal relationships, andthey realize that their students need training inmaking and maintaining friendships. The devel-opment of friendships is often difficult for stu-dents with disabilities; therefore, parentssuggested that adolescents need specific socialskills training in developing and maintainingfriendships with peers. Martha explained how shefelt all children would benefit from learningfriendship skills and described the difficultiesfaced by many adolescents as they attempt to de-velop friendships: “He still tends to be somewhatof a loner. Then when he does have someonearound him, he’s just in seventh heaven andsometimes overreacts and acts kind of goofy.”

Helping students become more adept at re-lationships requires the development of specificskills. To that end, parents suggested that socialskills training include the interpersonal aspects ofmaking friends and peer interaction skills such assharing, listening, complimenting, helping, andencouraging their peers.

MO R A L DE V E LO P M E N T

Moral development in this study included what iscommonly referred to as dispositions or whatCosta and Kallick (2000) describe as habits ofmind: “characteristics of what intelligent peopledo when they are confronted with problems, theresolutions to which are not immediately apparent”(p. 21). During data analysis, three dispositionsemerged as significant aspects of moral develop-ment: character, motivation, and self-efficacy.

Character. Parents asserted that the govern-ing characteristics of determining appropriate so-cial behavior are elements of character. Parentsstated that the areas of character that socially af-fected their children with disabilities were exercis-ing self-control, showing respect to others, takingresponsibility for one’s actions, and showing con-cern for others. Additionally, parental identifica-tion of the traits of character, specifically, respect,responsibility, and caring, is consistent with thecore aspects noted in the research of Jones andStoodley (1999). In this research, these same traitsare identified as important components in charac-ter enhancement programs for students.

Schools that desire to teach elements of char-acter often adopt a character education programthat can be modified to address the core values thatare agreed upon by the district and community.Adopting a character education program recognizesthe school’s commitment to develop the emotionalintelligence of students (Harrington-Lueker,1997). Like parents in other research (Harrington-Lueker; Vollmer et al., 1999), parents in this studystated how critical it is for students to learn skills inrespecting others and taking responsibility. Johnsummarized the feelings of many parents when hesaid this of responsibility:

I think if a kid knows that he [has] something todo and he takes that responsibility, I believe thatthey’re going to make it in the long run. I thinkthat’s a big part of undertaking something anddoing a job well. Taking the job into his ownhands and knowing what it’s like to, you know ifhe does something wrong, he’s got to come backand take the responsibility for it. (John)

Lastly, parents specifically identified caring as es-sential to effectively interacting socially with oth-ers. Sugai and Lewis (1996) classify skills such asempathy, sensitivity, and caring for others as at-



tributes of social competence that assist in socialinterpretation. Skills such as accurately interpret-ing social cues are necessary to help students de-termine the correct behavioral responses(Thompson et al., 1995) and minimize conflict.In this study, Tim explained how understandingthe consequences of one’s behavior is importantin determining the impact on others: The “thingsthat you do, can really have an effect on some-body else’s well-being or life . . . and that’s some-thing you want to be thinking about any timeyou do anything” (Tim).

The previous attributes of character identi-fied by this study’s parents have been cited asbeing helpful in aspects of conflict awareness(Vollmer et al., 1999). Furthermore, the parentalfeedback we received coincides with the researchthat identifies qualities of good character as con-tributing factors that assist in positive peer inter-actions (e.g., understanding the feelings andperspectives of peers) and in helping students be-come self-motivated learners and persons of goodmental health that are content with themselves(Brogan & Brogan, 1999).

Motivation. Parents concurred with eachother and with other researchers (e.g., Ballantine& Nunns, 1998; Elder, 1997) that student moti-vation is a contributing factor in their son’s anddaughter’s obtaining academic and personal goals.Pam explained that her son “is a very enthusiasticperson, but I do think that [it] is really importantto have enthusiasm, [a] positive outlook on things. . . that sort of momentum [is essential] to any-thing you do.” Parents in this study wanted theirchildren to have a repertoire of strategies to helpthem become more motivated to make positivechanges in their lives. These parental concerns arevalidated in Elder’s research, which explains howstudents need to effectively manage feelings andemotions to help elicit change in their lives. Thesechanges may be noticed in the areas of motiva-tion, perseverance and goal setting. Researchershave shown that there is a direct connection be-tween the efforts an individual exerts and the oc-currence of accomplishing tasks (Ballantine &Nunns; Cummings & Haggerty, 1997; Elder;Taylor & Larson, 1999).

Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy is an importantcontributor to the development of motivationand perseverance. Furthermore, self-efficacy is a

belief that one has the necessary skills to compe-tently execute social interactions (Galanki &Kalantzi-Azizi, 1999; Thompson et al., 1995).Parents shared how they wanted their children tobecome more secure in their abilities and mostagreed that this security depended on self-confi-dence and self-efficacy. Sara spoke for many par-ents when she described her desire for herdaughter to become more self-efficacious: “Iwant my daughter to be able to not be afraid, tobe confident in herself when it comes to otherpeople.” The importance of self-efficacy is under-scored by the findings of research that concludedthat children with low perceptions of efficacyfailed to obtain their goals because they ques-tioned their ability to perform (Ballantine &Nunns, 1998). Therefore, self-efficacy is criticalto motivation (Bellack, 1999) and goal attain-ment (Thompson et al.).

Self-efficacy requires individuals to becomeself-aware, to develop accurate self-perception ofpersonal abilities, and to apply these abilities.These skills enhance motivation (Ballantine &Nunns, 1998; Cummings & Haggerty, 1997).Other qualities that encourage motivation andgoal attainment are positive thinking, optimism,enthusiasm, zeal, and self-confidence (Goleman,1995). Students can learn strategies such as goal-setting and making good choices that help pro-mote success (Cummings & Haggerty). Suchstrategies are employed to help students cope(Ballantine & Nunns) with obstacles that maylower their self-perception or prevent success(Miller, 1997). Additionally, studies indicate thatthere is a direct connection between self-efficacyand the ability to interact and relate with peers(Bandura, 1986; Galanaki & Kalantzi-Azizi,1999). Clearly parental concerns about skills de-velopment in both these areas are well founded.

I M P L I C A T I O N S F O R P R A C T I C E

One of the more significant contributions of thisstudy is the collection of parental perspectives re-garding social skills that children need to learn.For too long parents have not been heard regard-ing the emphasis of what should and should notbe addressed in the school settings. The partici-pants shared how they were enthusiastic to con-



tribute their thoughts and questioned why “oth-ers” didn’t ask for their input before. Thus, it wasclear that most of these parents wanted to workwith educators in this area. A part of workingwith educators is to provide them with sugges-tions for effective practices and modifications.

The suggestions presented in this sectionare formed from the voices of the parents as theycontributed to a greater pool of content knowl-edge. Although they were not asked to providethis information, parents interjected theirthoughts about effective strategies and practiceswhen teaching social skills to students with high-incidence disabilities. Parents identified the strate-gies of modeling (Sheridan et al., 1996), provid-ing corrective feedback, and role-playing (Hall etal., 1997; Hepler, 1994; Sugai & Lewis, 1996) aseffective methods to teach their children socialskills. Furthermore, parents stated that: (a) ad-dressing individual student needs through bettercommunication, (b) modifying curriculum, and(c) involving parents as active participants arenecessary components for teaching social skills.

AD D R E S S I N G IN D I V I D UA L ST U D E N T NE E D S

In studies that have reviewed various IEPs, nu-merous goals disproportionately focus on acade-mic goals rather than social and emotional goalsfor students with disabilities (Pray et al., 1992).To address the individual needs of students, par-ents in this study, as in other studies (Bowen,1998; Gibb & Young, 1997; Love, 1996), identi-fied the need for greater (a) parent and teachercommunication, and (b) teacher and studentcommunication.

Parents and teachers are valuable sources ofinformation in assessing the social competence ofchildren (Gibb & Young, 1997; Ruffalo & Elliott,1997). Therefore, the need for ongoing commu-nication is necessary to help identify the areas ofsocial deficits. The perceptions of parents andteachers can vary when evaluating social compe-tence (Ruffalo & Elliott). Therefore, increasedcommunications between the parents and teach-ers are required when determining goals for a stu-dent’s IEP.

Parent communication is also stressed inthe Goals 2000 Educate America Act, which en-courages educators to reach out to parents to seektheir input and involvement in the social and

emotional development of children (Love, 1996).Not only did parents in this study suggest theneed for teachers to communicate more withthem, but they also indicated that they felt teach-ers need to pursue more communication withtheir children.

Students with high-incidence disabilitiesoften lack the necessary skills to know how topositively interact with their teachers (Bowen,1998). Communication is an avenue that canhelp bridge a stronger connection between thestudents and teachers. Although the barriers thatprevent more opportunities for communicationmay be the teacher’s issues (Taylor & Larson,1999), teachers and students need to becomemore comfortable with communicating and dis-cussing their feelings (Goleman, 1999). By help-ing students communicate their feelings,educators and parents can begin to teach studentshow this awareness directly relates to the student’sability to interact appropriately with others andmanage negative feelings (Miller, 1997).

MO D I F Y I N G CU R R I C U LU M

Although parents stressed the importance of ad-dressing individual student needs, they felt thatall students would benefit from learning skillsthat promote positive relationships and friend-ships. All parents in this study wanted their sonsand daughters to have healthy relationships andfriendships and felt that their involvement isneeded to help make positive changes in currenteducational practice.

The parental views presented in this studycan be used to examine current practice in ourschools or current beliefs about essential socialskills. The views of the parents validate some ofthe social skills that are currently stressed in theliterature and reflected in social skill programsand curricula to date. Thus, they substantiatesome of what is currently being done in class-rooms. However, they also offered new insights by


For too long parents have not been heardregarding the emphasis of what shouldand should not be addressed in the schoolsettings.



collectively identifying some social skills as beingmore significant than others, especially the di-mensions of character and emotional intelligence.

Parents also shared that schools currentlyare not teaching all the critical skills they identi-fied in this study. These parents believed thatsome of these skills are being addressed but alsoindicated that they thought content decisions de-pended on the individual teacher and the amountof time allocated certain curricular topics. Onesuch example is the conflict between teaching aca-demic and nonacademic skills. Because of the in-creased pressure placed upon schools to meet thedemand of high-stakes testing, parents providedthe following solutions for schools:

• Incorporate social skill lessons and trainingthrough teacher modeling and teacher and stu-dent interactions,

• Use collaborative efforts and communicationwith parents to help reinforce and generalize so-cial skills in the home and community environ-ments.

• Weave valuable social skills content within eachacademic class and nonacademic activity.

It is clear that current educational practices andcontent of social curricula do not cover all theskills parents desire their children to learn. There-fore, school districts are encouraged to reexaminetheir curricula and make necessary modificationsor additions to address the skills and moral devel-opment that parents identified as critical socialskills for adolescents with high incidence disabili-ties.

IN V O LV I N G PA R E N T S

Parents play a critical role in social skill develop-ment (Sheridan et al., 1996) and generalization ofsocial skills (Arthur et al., 1999; Sheridan et al.;Sugai & Lewis, 1996). Therefore, all social andemotional development programs in schoolswould greatly benefit from parent involvement(Pool, 1997). The forming of parent-professionalpartnerships is an effective strategy often used tocreate an educational environment for parentalinvolvement (O’Shea, O’Shea, Algozzine, &Hammite, 2001). In these partnerships, parentsare actively involved in a transdisciplinary teamapproach where collaborative goal-setting, assess-

ment, and planning occur with professionals todetermine the educational priorities for their chil-dren. To create a school environment that encour-ages parental involvement, educators need tobecome aware of the family diversity within theirschool community by establishing informal andformal opportunities to communicate with par-ents. Collaborative practices such as parent volun-teering programs, community-based schoolprograms, parent’s night out, and continualhome-school communication are effective strate-gies for influencing greater parental involvement(O’Shea et al.). Parents in this study agreed withJones and Stoodley (1999) that parental involve-ment in school and community activities providegreater opportunities for parents to assist theirchildren in applying social skills to other settings.Likewise, the parental results of this study areconsistent with the findings of Arthur et al.(1999), acknowledging that family members havea tremendous influence on the development ofsocial competence in students with high-inci-dence disabilities.

Although the Taylor and Larson (1999)study confirmed positive outcomes of social skillstraining during adolescence, it is important to notethat the findings from Kavale and Forness (1999)and Mathur, Kavale, Quinn, Forness, and Ruther-ford (1998) meta-analyses suggest that social skillsinterventions reflect a modest, if any, improvementin social competence of students with high-inci-dence disabilities. Inconsistency in assessment,population treatment, and generalization are listedas the possible factors inhibiting the overall effectof social skills training on social competence ofchildren (Gresham et al., 2001). Similarly, Kavaleand Forness noted that inconsistency in theamount of time and frequency of training, instru-ments to measure skill and performance effect, andresearch-developed social skills training packageswith limited pilot testing and instructional ratio-nale were identified as possible contributors for thelack of significant empirical support. Even thoughthe research on social skills training or interventioncurrently has minimal empirical support, Kavaleand Forness suggest it is still important to conductfuture social skills research. They see this researchas necessary for providing insight into critical con-tent selection and methodical issues.



CO N C LU S I O N

Over the years, researchers have identified vari-ous social skills that assist individuals with high-incidence disabilities in becoming more sociallycompetent. A brief overview of these identifiedskills are survival skills (e.g., getting help, as-sertiveness training, and following directions),problem-solving and decision making skills (e.g.,identifying problems, generating solutions, eval-uating outcomes, and setting and accomplishinggoals), and relationship skills (e.g., initiating andmaintaining friendships, listening, and commu-nicating; Korinek & Popp, 1997; Sugai & Lewis,1996). These pieces are very important compo-nents in the social development of students andare currently addressed in most social skill pro-grams (Erwin, 1994; Hepler, 1994). The parentsof this study agreed that these skills are impor-tant for students to acquire, but they also identi-fied skills they felt were equivalently critical.According to parents in this study, students whoare truly successful during adolescence and adultlife also have the critical skills of empathy, dis-cernment, and intuition. These are the skills thatparents felt are the most critical for students tonegotiate adolescence and adulthood. Future re-search needs to identify the components of theskills of intuition, discernment, and empathy.Additionally, new research needs to examinehow to teach these skills, when to teach theseskills, and how these skills are related to eachother and other identified skills.

Finally, it seems that the focus of educa-tion is constantly changing. New educationalstandards and academic skills assessments arethe driving force in what is currently measuring

the success of our students, teachers, andschools. Administrators and educators are feel-ing pressured to prove student progress by testscores and student performance. Moreover,communities are reactively responding to theirlocal school district’s test results. At the sametime, new research on character education pro-grams and emotional intelligence reveal the sig-nificance that social skills training has inensuring student social competence and successin the job market. Many of the themes identi-fied in this study directly correlate with thecomponents emphasized in emotional intelli-gence (Goleman, 1995), presenting the need forgreater social skills instruction in our schools.Thus, there appears to be a growing problem.When emphasis is placed on achieving academicstandards and higher test scores, little time isleft in the school day to address the nonacade-mic needs of our students.

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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S

SHARON M. KOLB (CEC #832), AssistantProfessor, Department of Special Education, Uni-versity of Wisconsin-Whitewater. CHERYLHANLEY-MAXWELL, Professor, Departmentof Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Correspondence may be addressed to Sharon M.Kolb, Department of Special Education, WintherHall, 4039, 800 W. Main Street, University ofWisconsin-Whitewater, WI 53190-1790. Office:262-472-4831, Fax: 262-472-2843, Email:[email protected]

Manuscript received June 2001; accepted May2002

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