Social skills are equally important for pupils’ development and progress in school as learning skills and achievements. When including children with special needs in primary school together with their peers, it is very important to pay special care and attention to social development and social skills of pupils with special needs, especially to those with learning disabilities. Considering the theoretical findings, we can say that the researchers, using different methods, samples and measurement instruments came to different outcomes in the area of social skills development of pupils with learning disabilities. Social skills are important for successful social integration or inclusion of pupils with learning disabilities into primary school and consequently into their classes in order to establish and maintain positive relationship with their classmates. The goal of our research was to study which areas are more prone to difficulties and why and whether there are differences in the area of social skills between the two samples (pupils with learning disabilities and their peers).
Basic findings of the empirical research stress, that there are statistically significant structural differences between the group of pupils with learning disabilities and the group of their peers considering the difficulties in social interaction. There are also statistically significant differences in public speech performance and relationship with family members and friends. Statistically significant differences have also appeared in anxiety and restraint in social interactions and (general) social anxiety between the pupils with learning disabilities and their peers. We have also confirmed the hypothesis that there are significant differences between the two groups in general self-concept. We have come to the conclusion that pupils with learning disabilities show lower social self-concept, however, there are no significant differences between the physical self-concept. We also have to stress that pupils who have more adolescence difficulties are also more socially anxious.
Scientific contribution of the following masters’ research will contribute to the contemporary findings in the area of social skills of pupils with learning disabilities in primary schools, programmes with adjusted education and special help, and propose new ways of working with those pupils.
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