Facilitating the development of interpersonal communication skills in children : the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum with implications for peace education
Year: 1989
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Educators interested in helping students develop their personal resources for living harmoniously have increasingly recognized the need for programs that enhance the development of interpersonal skills in children.To meet this need, a systematic program, based on Carl Rogers' theory of interpersonal communication, was designed to facilitate the development of communication skills in children thus encouraging interpersonal understanding.The curriculum uses issues arising in children's relationships with others as a medium for teaching listening, empathy and clarification skills.The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum in teaching these skills.The curriculum was field tested in a grade five class.Students met with the investigator for 40 minutes, two to three times a week over the course of ten weeks to train in the interpersonal communication skills.Grade five students enrolled in two other classes participated as a control group.As a participant observer, the investigator kept anecdotal records to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum and to explore its effects on the students and their interpersonal relationships.In addition, prior to, and two weeks following the completion of the program, students in both groups completed indexes of empathy and clarification skills.Evaluations of the experience were also completed by the training group.The interpersonal skills curriculum appeared to be effective in facilitating the students' development of interpersonal communication skills: Analyses of scores on the communication indexes revealed a significant improvement in empathy and clarifying skills, when considered separately or together, for students participating in the program CHAPTER I Unesco on Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.The recommendation was to encourage and support education for the advancement of justice, freedom, human rights and peace.At an international government conference in 1983, it was observed that the main lines of emphasis of the recommendation are now reflected in most national educational policies (Petrovsky, 1986).In a survey of peace education for the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, Wytze Brouwer (1986), found that a mandate for peace education exists within the formal educational goals and objectives of every Canadian province.In fact, many of the components of peace education are reflected in the objectives of subjects such as Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, and Drama.The Canadian Teacher's Federation (CTF) also has a comprehensive policy in support of peace education: Educators should provide leadership in supporting the concept of global understanding and peace.Justice, mutual respect, and respect for direrences can be taught and learnt.Students must be assisted in acquiring skills to make choices relevant to world concerns. Peace education must concern itself with teaching co-operation at all levels.The CTF calls for educators to provide students with the knowledge, understanding attitudes, skills and powers to live in peace.The public is also demanding that schools take a much broader view of education and include topics such as social awareness, values, sex education, peace education, and communication skills (Pitsula, 1987).Given this impetus, the field of peace education has begun to grow in Canada.The field is, however, still in its infancy: there is no clear consensus regarding the focus, The interpersonal communication skills of empathy and clarification embody Rogers' basic approach of seeing another's thoughts and feelings from the other's point of view and provide a means for communicating that understanding back to the other person.Results of research conducted in a wide variety of situations, demonstrate the effectiveness of nonjudgmental listening, empathy and clarification in enhancing interpersonal understanding and reducing conflict (Rogers, 1961 a).The curriculum developed in this study was designed to facilitate the development of these skills in students. Definition of TermsThe definition of terms as they are used for the purposes of this study are as follows:Curriculum intervention or interpersonal communication skills curriculum refers to the curriculum unit designed by the investigator to facilitate the development of listening, empathy and clarifying skills, described in this study (See Appendix C).Emvathy refers to the ability to perceive another person's feelings accurately and to communicate that understanding to the other person (Rogers 1961a, Wassermann).Clarification refers to the ability to perceive another person's opinions, attitudes or ideas accurately and to communicate that understanding to the other person.Listening refers to the ability to understand what another is saying by attending to the facial, postural, verbal, tonal, content and timing of cues of the other person.Empathy and clarification are conceptualized as having three phases. How itWhen Someone Doesn't Listen (If you don't want to share your work, mark your paper PRIVATE.)How did it feel when your partner responded with empathy when you were sharing your feelings?Does listening to one another's feelings and using empathy help people to get along?----------------------------------------*I am not so .qoc~iAat. . .Here's a chance f o r you t o reflect on some o f the things that you have learnt in 'this chapter.Work wit 1-1 a friend.Talking %How effective do you find empathic listening as a way of communicating? *Have you been able to use your empathy skills outside of this class?What effect did it have?*How does it feel to use en-~pathic responses?*what effect does listen to one another's feelings have on how people get along?Discuss your ideas.
Source: Summit (Simon Fraser University)
Author: Alison M. Walkley
Language: English
Topic: Social Skills and Education
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2112400015