Social Skills of Students from Educational Sciences: Validity, Reliability, and Percentiles for Evaluation

The development of social skills (SS) at various stages of life provides the basis for social and academic success throughout life. This cross-sectional study validates and verifies the reliability of the SS checklist proposed by Goldstein et al 1983. The checklist was administered, which is composed of 6 dimensions and 50 SS questions. 671 students between 18 and 25 years of age, belonging to eight professional programs in the area of Educational Sciences, participated. The results showed that five factors explained 41.4% of the variance of the instrument. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin KMO measure of 0.906 and Bartlett's test of sphericity were highly significant (X2= 11020.251, gl= 1225). The factor loadings of the 6 dimensions and the 50 questions ranged between 0.42 and 0.72. The reliability achieved by Cronbach's alpha was r=0.92. The proposal of percentiles will allow classifying low, moderate and high levels of SS, providing information that can be used not only by students, but also for professionals working in higher education. Consequently, it highlights the importance of developing SS not only at home, but also at school and university, since they need to be stimulated at every stage of life to achieve the proposed objectives.

Introducing Preservice Teachers to Family-Centered Practices: A Scoping Review

Parental involvement in P-12 education could lead to social and academic success for students; however, parents often experience barriers to their involvement. Different or additional barriers exist for parents of children with a disability. School staff can positively influence parents to become involved in their children’s education. Family-centered practices, common in early intervention under special education law (Part C of IDEIA), may foster parent involvement in P-12 schools. In this scoping literature review, we examined 17 studies of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in higher education in the US who have implemented programs to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to collaborate with parents/families. Studies varied by analytic method, participants, purposes, format, and measures. We present a synthesis of the included articles and discuss recommendations for teacher preparation programs.

A Review into Effective Classroom Management and Strategies for Student Engagement: Teacher and Student Roles in Today’s Classrooms

A teacher’s role encompasses far more than just imparting curricula outcomes to their students: they need to equip students with the necessary tools to experience social and academic success both inside the classroom and beyond it. Teachers need to empower students with the means to critically analyse the world around them in order to develop into critical independent thinkers. Students need to be proficient in utilising skills associated with higher levels of thinking, that will empower them with the ability to identify, analyse and evaluate the infinite volume of information available through our rapidly changing digital world. Just as teachers need to take responsibility for the various methods of teaching and instruction in the classroom, it is essential for students to take ownership of the learning process, to ensure future success in university environments, where sustained personal effort and metacognitive skills are fundamental to academic success. The object of the review of the literature surrounding the roles of teacher and student, effective classroom management strategies, and successful evidence-based teaching and learning pedagogies, is to assist new and experienced teachers in the promotion of a positive classroom experience for all.