The main purpose of master degree thesis is to explore the effects of social interaction skills training to violent behaviour of 4th class pupils of primary school. In the theoretical part peer violent behaviour is defined as goal-oriented behaviour with the purpose of causing damage, injury or threats focused to themselves or others. The evolutionary characteristics of children in middle childhood are presented, the most important are quality relationships with peers that are also important in school context. Among pupils in schools different types of violence is recognized, such as verbal, psychic, physical or sexual. According to involvement in violence, different roles are recognised among pupils, such as bullies, victims and children who are at the same time bullies and victims. It is important that class teachers decrease peer violence occurrence since it has negative effect on pupils. One of possible ways to decrease peer violence is social interaction skills training that was used in the research.
In the empirical part the results of the research are presented, the effects of social interaction skills training to violent behaviour of 4th class pupils were studied. The training was formed by us using existing interactive exercises. In the training different contents were included: recognizing and prevention of violence, effective communication and shaping socially acceptable behaviour. The pattern was chosen with purpose, it contained one of the 4th classes in Notranjsko-kraška statistical region where the pedagogical practice was done. The training lasted for three weeks. The effects of the training were tested by a specially prepared questionnaire that was filled out before and after the training by all the pupils. There were also five chosen pupils from the class that participated in interviewing. Among those five there were two pupils who according to self-reporting most commonly performed violence, two pupils who were most commonly victims of violence and one who was a bully and a victim at the same time. We also interviewed their class teacher before and after the training.
The results have shown that different types of violence were still present however boys as well as girls performed them more rarely than before the training. After the training there were more pupils recognised as observers of peer violence. If pupils recognised peer violence, they were ready to help the victims of peer violence to a greater extent than before the training. Moreover after the training the pupils were
more successful to solve conflicts without the use of violence. There were no differences between approval/disapproval of performing violence among pupils.
|
