Friendship Club: Development and implementation of a 12‐week social skills group curriculum

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundFriendships help children cope with stress, become more socially competent and achieve well academically. The Friendship Club (Tillman, 2012) is a small group school counselling intervention that meets weekly for 12 weeks to focus on social skills training for elementary age children.AimsThe purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving the social skills and overall well‐being of the participants and examine the psychometric properties of parent, teacher and self‐report pre‐ and post‐tests.MethodologyThirty‐four children between the ages of six and 12 participated in Friendship Club groups at local elementary schools. Prior and after the group sequence, parents, teachers and children were given a standard pre‐test which assessed such dimensions as friendships, communication skills, interpersonal skills such as sharing, and abilities such as conflict management. Paired‐samples t tests were conducted between key items and scale averages.ResultsAll four scales designed to assess implementation of social skills showed excellent levels of internal consistency. Qualitative parent‐report results include several improvements. Qualitative self‐report included a number of clear strengths‐based improvements. Quantitative results include that students reported a significant increase in their willingness to socialise with others. Additionally, the average score of children's implementation of helpful social skills as reported by their parents rose significantly.ConclusionAfter examining the quantitative and qualitative parent and child reports, this study concludes that overall the group curriculum for the Friendship Club was beneficial at facilitating the integration of social skills for children identified as struggling to maintain relationships.