Social competence and learning difficulties: Teacher perceptions

Abstract

Background/aim: Social competence has been linked to children's classroom performance with three out of four children with learning difficulties reported to have problems with social skills. Social participation remains a predominant childhood occupation and a key indicator of school performance. Occupational therapists work with teachers to accurately assess the social performance of children in context and to provide targeted intervention. There is limited research about what teachers perceive are the specific nature of social difficulties experienced by children with learning difficulties in the classroom. This study investigated teacher perceptions of the social competence of a small sample of Australian boys with learning difficulties within the classroom context. Methods: The Teacher Skillstreaming Checklist was used to investigate teacher perceptions of the social abilities of 21 primary school aged boys with learning difficulties compared to a control group. A correlational analysis was used to examine the relationship. Results and conclusions: The study identified that the boys with learning difficulties were perceived by their teachers as having poorer social performance across multiple domains when compared to their typically developing peers. Implications of these findings are that children's social performance may negatively impact learning and classroom participation and that for some children, social competence should be a focus of occupational therapy assessment and treatment. © 2008 The Authors Journal compilation © 2008 Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.