An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Preschool Life Skills program on Icelandic first-grade elementary students
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.
Sálfræði, Grunnskólanemar, Atferli, Félagsfærni, Psychology, School children, Behavior, Social skills
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