Effects of a Metacognitive Social Skill Intervention in a Rural Setting with At-Risk Adolescents:

Katie was often described by teachers as "difficult." She is a bright student, but frequently interrupts in class and makes condescending comments to other students. Katie often points out that she is smarter than her teachers, and she disregards what they are trying to teach. Donald, on the other hand, has not uttered a word in class since the beginning of the semester. Donald's shyness and soft mannerisms have made him the object of cruel treatment from his peers. Even when spoken to, Donald rarely speaks. In class, the teachers have learned not to call on him or attempt to engage Donald in discussion. Sam has missed almost as much school as he has attended this semester. Sam always finds a reason to leave the school grounds, especially if an assignment is due.Students everywhere, such as Katie, Donald, and Sam, demonstrate an observable need for social skill instruction, goal setting, self-confidence, and instruction in how to work with others. Katie, Donald, and Sam were fortunate to be in a high school that volunteered to participate in a research study focused on social skills instruction using a metacognitive approach. The purpose of this paper is to share the study's process, procedure, and, most importantly, the outcomes and impact of systematic instruction in social skills on each student's life. The authors hypothesize that the metacognitive social skills intervention will lead to a reduction in negative behaviors and an increase in pro-social behaviors exhibited by the participants at school.Social Emotional LearningSince the mid-nineties, American students have reported higher rates of bullying, violence, drunk-driving, suicide attempts, and an unsafe feeling at school than adolescent counterparts of earlier decades (Batsche &. Knoff, 1994; Henderson, 1994; "More students," 1995). In response to these pervasive school problems, social emotional learning (SEL) has gained prevalence in American schools and educational research. Fueled by both grassroots and top-down efforts to reduce behavioral and psychological problems in school children, SEL provides a framework for defining and providing the consistent vocabulary and necessary skills for social skills instruction. Not only have SEL interventions burgeoned, SEL has emerged in state standards, educational research organizations, higher education institutions, commercially developed academic curricular materials, and teacher preparation programs (Hoffman, 2009).Hoffman's (2009) review of the evaluation literature of SEL programs found that interventions are consistently linked to "teacher feelings of improved competence in the classroom, improved student behavior as measured by teacher's assessments and drops in discipline referrals, and increases in student academic achievement" (Hoffman, p. 535). A more recent meta-analysis of 213 universal SEL school-based interventions found that SEL programs increase positive outcomes in skills, attitudes, social behaviors and academic performance and reduce conduct problems and emotional distress for students who complete the intervention (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, &. Schellinger, 2011). While the link between SEL and academic achievement may not be obvious, Elias (2011) argued that improved academic achievement is a result of the SEL program's emphasis on (a) students building greater attachment, engagement, and commitment to school and (b) students reducing participation in risky behavior.Social problem-solving skills, among other key competencies, can reduce adolescent health problems. A recent study of an SEL intervention for elementary students found that students who were able to identify the main issues in a given social problem, such as premarital sex, were less likely to report early onset engagement in sexual activity in the year following the intervention (Schonfeld et al., 2012). In addition, a social, emotional, and character development program called Positive Action reduced cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use among 8th grade students as compared with a control group (Lewis et al. …