The efficacy of positive peer reporting procedures for use with neglected-status students in general education classrooms

Abstract

Children who are neglected or rejected by their peers may require social skill interventions in order to develop the social competencies needed to establish satisfactory interpersonal relationships. One promising social skill intervention is Positive Peer Reporting, which has been shown to produce increases in positive social interaction and peer acceptance for these groups of children. As most previous investigations were conducted in residential or special education settings, further research is needed to support the use of this intervention in general education settings. Therefore, the present study examined the efficacy of Positive Peer Reporting with two neglected-status children in general education classrooms. Both participants demonstrated improvements in the quality of social interactions, assessed through classroom and recess observations, as well as increased peer acceptance. However, the participants displayed differing responses to the intervention. For the first participant, the major impact of the intervention was the reduction of negative interactions, while the second participant demonstrated dramatic increases in positive interactions. Overall, these findings support the use of Positive Peer Reporting for improving the acceptance and quality of interactions for students who are neglected by peers in general education classrooms.