Efficacy of Life Skills Education on Social Participation among Children

Nowadays, to increase social participation is a priority in almost all societies. Children as a group, who are in developmental stage, need special attention and most of preventive interventions and health promotion programs should be focused on them. Social participation has fundamental importance in children's development and their health. Social participation state in children can predict educational and professional success and social status in their adulthood. Children who have low social participation at home, school or between their friends, have less opportunity for social maturation in compare with their peer group. Also they will have more health problems in adulthood. Research evidence indicated that most of children with low social participation havent enough strength in life skills such as communication, emotional expression, emotional management and etc. therefore, it's assumed that we can increase children's social participation through life skills training. This study was designed for answer this question that "Is life skills education increase social participation in children?" This hypothesis was tested whit an experimental research design. Subjects were included 100 children (50 girls & 50 boys) 7 years old that were students in firth grade of education in 85- 86 years. The efficacy of life skills education schedule on experiment group was studied whit a pretestposttest control group design. Study group was matched with control group in some intervening variables such as "age", "intelligence", "socio- economic status" and "family structure", because previous studies have been showed that these variables can disturb research's results. In order to collect the data demographic characteristic questionnaire and social participation scale (made by researcher) were used. The findings indicate that life skills education increase social participation in children. In addition, results of this research were showed that this efficacy was equivalent in girls and boys and life skills education increase social participation in both groups equally. The results of this research demonstrated that we can prepare children to more participation in social activities, which it is from their certain rights, by designing of schedules for educating life skills to them. Then well able to provide condition for forming a dynamic society that it's dependent to whole society presence. As other researches have been suggested, social participation promotion programs should include girls like boys, because they are an important part of present society and they have significant role in this field. Also, these research's findings confirm that if enough opportunity and necessary skills be give to girls, they can participate in social activities like boys and defend from their rights. These finding can help to clinicians and policy makers for developing programs and interventions for promoting social participation in children and adolescents and preparing them for entering to adulthood.