ENGAGE: A Blueprint for Incorporating Social Skills Training Into Daily Academic Instruction

Abstract

Student success in school depends, in part, on adequate social-interpersonal skills. Yet, in a time when all students are expected to reach specified academic goals, school personnel are hard-pressed to find ways to address the social-interpersonal behavior needs of their students. In this article, the authors discuss practical ways for teachers to infuse social skills into academic instruction. The authors begin with a vignette to establish a rationale for merging academic and social skills instruction. Next, the authors briefly review the social skills research, highlight several studies, encapsulate the common overlapping assumptions, and describe the steps required to deliver quality social skills instruction. The authors describe the ENGAGE blueprint as a practical way to incorporate social skills into daily academic instruction. Last, the authors revisit the vignette to illustrate classroom application of the ENGAGE blueprint.

Keywords:

• classroom management
• curriculum
• instruction
• problem behavior
• social skills training
• students with disabilities