{"id":{"repo_id":"reykjavik","oai_identifier":"oai:skemman.is:1946/50582"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/reykjavik/oai:skemman.is:1946/50582","repository":{"repo_id":"reykjavik","name":"Reykjavík University","base_url":"https://skemman.is/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Preschool Life Skills program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students","abstract":"The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is a classroom-wide approach designed to support the development of essential social and behavioral skills to reduce problem behavior in preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the PLS program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students. Additionally, it sought to compare the participants’ behavior at baseline and after the intervention, as well as compare the behavior of the experimental group to the control groups. The teacher of the experimental group was trained to implement the PLS in their classroom. Direct observation was used to assess behaviors. The observed teacher behaviors included waiting until a child looked up before giving instructions and giving descriptive compliments. The students' behaviors observed included instruction following, problem behavior, and hand raising. The results showed that the teacher of the experimental group waited more frequently until a child looked up before giving instructions and gave more descriptive compliments, compared to the control groups. The students in the experimental group showed a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in hand raising, compared to the control groups. Further research is necessary to measure long-term benefits, generalizability across settings, and larger effect sizes. Keywords: Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program, elementary school, instruction following, descriptive compliments, problematic behavior, appropriate social skills.","abstract_html":"The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is a classroom-wide approach designed to support the development of essential social and behavioral skills to reduce problem behavior in preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the PLS program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students. Additionally, it sought to compare the participants’ behavior at baseline and after the intervention, as well as compare the behavior of the experimental group to the control groups. The teacher of the experimental group was trained to implement the PLS in their classroom. Direct observation was used to assess behaviors. The observed teacher behaviors included waiting until a child looked up before giving instructions and giving descriptive compliments. The students' behaviors observed included instruction following, problem behavior, and hand raising. The results showed that the teacher of the experimental group waited more frequently until a child looked up before giving instructions and gave more descriptive compliments, compared to the control groups. The students in the experimental group showed a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in hand raising, compared to the control groups. Further research is necessary to measure long-term benefits, generalizability across settings, and larger effect sizes. Keywords: Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program, elementary school, instruction following, descriptive compliments, problematic behavior, appropriate social skills.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Helga Sóley Þorsteinsdóttir 2002-","Þórdís Lind Þórsdóttir 2000-"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-06-11T13:49:19Z","date_published":"2025-06-11T13:49:19Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:39:26Z","subjects":["Sálfræði","Grunnskólanemar","Atferli","Félagsfærni","Psychology","School children","Behavior","Social skills"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1946/50582","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Helga Sóley Þorsteinsdóttir 2002-","Þórdís Lind Þórsdóttir 2000-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-06-11T13:49:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-06-11T13:49:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-06-11T13:49:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Sálfræði","Grunnskólanemar","Atferli","Félagsfærni","Psychology","School children","Behavior","Social skills"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1946/50582"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is a classroom-wide approach designed to support the development of essential social and behavioral skills to reduce problem behavior in preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the PLS program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students. Additionally, it sought to compare the participants’ behavior at baseline and after the intervention, as well as compare the behavior of the experimental group to the control groups. The teacher of the experimental group was trained to implement the PLS in their classroom. Direct observation was used to assess behaviors. The observed teacher behaviors included waiting until a child looked up before giving instructions and giving descriptive compliments. The students' behaviors observed included instruction following, problem behavior, and hand raising. The results showed that the teacher of the experimental group waited more frequently until a child looked up before giving instructions and gave more descriptive compliments, compared to the control groups. The students in the experimental group showed a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in hand raising, compared to the control groups. Further research is necessary to measure long-term benefits, generalizability across settings, and larger effect sizes. Keywords: Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program, elementary school, instruction following, descriptive compliments, problematic behavior, appropriate social skills.","Markmið Preschool Life Skill (PLS) íhlutuninnar er að styðja við nauðsynlega félags- og hegðunarfærni hjá leikskólabörnum og draga úr erfiðari hegðun. Markmið núverandi rannsóknar var að kanna áhrif PLS á íslenska nemendur í fyrsta bekk í grunnskóla. Einnig var markmið að bera saman hegðun þátttakenda fyrir og eftir íhlutun, og að bera saman hegðun tilraunahóps við samanburðarhópa. Beinar athuganir voru gerðar til að safna gögnum. Kennari tilraunahópsins hlaut þjálfun í að kenna PLS færnina í sinni kennslustofu. Hegðunin sem skoðuð var hjá kennara, var hversu oft hann beið eftir að barn liti upp áður en hann gaf fyrirmæli og hversu oft hann veitti börnunum lýsandi hrós. Hegðun nemenda sem var skoðuð var hversu oft þau fylgdu fyrirmælum, réttu upp hönd og hversu oft þau sýndu erfiða hegðun. Niðurstöður sýndu að kennari tilraunahópsins beið í auknum mæli eftir að barn liti upp og gaf fleiri lýsandi hrós, nemendurnir sýndu minnkun í erfiðari hegðun og réttu upp hönd í auknum mæli eftir íhlutun, í samanburði við samanburðarhópa. Mælt er með frekari rannsóknum til að mæla langtíma áhrif PLS, alhæfingu milli umhverfa og með stærri áhrifastærðum. Lykilorð: Preschool Life Skills, grunnskóli, fylgd fyrirmæla, lýsandi hrós, erfið hegðun, viðeigandi félagsfærni."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Preschool Life Skills program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"],"dc:creator":["Helga Sóley Þorsteinsdóttir 2002-","Þórdís Lind Þórsdóttir 2000-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-06-11T13:49:18Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-06-11T13:49:18Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-06-11T13:49:19Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is a classroom-wide approach designed to support the development of essential social and behavioral skills to reduce problem behavior in preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the PLS program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students. Additionally, it sought to compare the participants’ behavior at baseline and after the intervention, as well as compare the behavior of the experimental group to the control groups. The teacher of the experimental group was trained to implement the PLS in their classroom. Direct observation was used to assess behaviors. The observed teacher behaviors included waiting until a child looked up before giving instructions and giving descriptive compliments. The students' behaviors observed included instruction following, problem behavior, and hand raising. The results showed that the teacher of the experimental group waited more frequently until a child looked up before giving instructions and gave more descriptive compliments, compared to the control groups. The students in the experimental group showed a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in hand raising, compared to the control groups. Further research is necessary to measure long-term benefits, generalizability across settings, and larger effect sizes. Keywords: Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program, elementary school, instruction following, descriptive compliments, problematic behavior, appropriate social skills.","Markmið Preschool Life Skill (PLS) íhlutuninnar er að styðja við nauðsynlega félags- og hegðunarfærni hjá leikskólabörnum og draga úr erfiðari hegðun. Markmið núverandi rannsóknar var að kanna áhrif PLS á íslenska nemendur í fyrsta bekk í grunnskóla. Einnig var markmið að bera saman hegðun þátttakenda fyrir og eftir íhlutun, og að bera saman hegðun tilraunahóps við samanburðarhópa. Beinar athuganir voru gerðar til að safna gögnum. Kennari tilraunahópsins hlaut þjálfun í að kenna PLS færnina í sinni kennslustofu. Hegðunin sem skoðuð var hjá kennara, var hversu oft hann beið eftir að barn liti upp áður en hann gaf fyrirmæli og hversu oft hann veitti börnunum lýsandi hrós. Hegðun nemenda sem var skoðuð var hversu oft þau fylgdu fyrirmælum, réttu upp hönd og hversu oft þau sýndu erfiða hegðun. Niðurstöður sýndu að kennari tilraunahópsins beið í auknum mæli eftir að barn liti upp og gaf fleiri lýsandi hrós, nemendurnir sýndu minnkun í erfiðari hegðun og réttu upp hönd í auknum mæli eftir íhlutun, í samanburði við samanburðarhópa. Mælt er með frekari rannsóknum til að mæla langtíma áhrif PLS, alhæfingu milli umhverfa og með stærri áhrifastærðum. Lykilorð: Preschool Life Skills, grunnskóli, fylgd fyrirmæla, lýsandi hrós, erfið hegðun, viðeigandi félagsfærni."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1946/50582"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:subject":["Sálfræði","Grunnskólanemar","Atferli","Félagsfærni","Psychology","School children","Behavior","Social skills"],"dc:title":["An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Preschool Life Skills program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:39:26Z"}