The Effectiveness of Communication Skills Training on Perceived Competence and Happiness of Male Students in the Sixth Grade of Elementary School in Shiraz

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of communication skills training on perceived competence and happiness of sixth grade male elementary students. This research was a quasi-experimental in which pretest-posttest with control groups was used. Statistical population consisted of all male students of the sixth grade of elementary schools in Shiraz in academic year 94-95. By using available sampling, 30 students who gained lower scores on Perceived Competence Scale (Harter, 1982) and Happiness Questionnaire (Hills & Argyle, 2002) were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental (15 students) and a control (15 students) group. The experimental group received communication skills training in 10 sessions (90 minutes each). Then, the posttest was administered for both groups. Covariance analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in perceived competence, its dimensions and happiness and the mean scores of the experimental group were higher than the control group (P≤0/01). Therefore, communication skills training is effective in increasing perceived competence and happiness of students.