Social Skills and Leadership Abilities Among Children in Small-Group Literature Discussions

Abstract

Many childhood educators are attempting to shift from the dominant “recitation” format of discussions found in today's classrooms. This study draws on reader response, and sociocognitive and sociocultural theories to investigate children's perceptions of social skills and leadership moves after participating in small-group discussions of literature for the first time. The researcher interviewed a stratified random sample of 24 elementary-age students after participating in such discussion groups for 4 months. Findings included that children perceived incidents of peers who helped, took turns, got along, and kept the discussion going. Results suggest that participation in small-group, peer-led literature discussions, with the support of teacher scaffolding, may support children's social and leadership skills.

Keywords:

• literature discussion
• social skills
• elementary school