The Effect of Technology on the Social Skills of Elementary School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if introducing technology into an elementary school classroom has an effect on the social skills of young children. Young children are presented with more opportunities to use technology than ever before. Understanding that, it was felt that studying what effect, if any, that technology introduction has on students’ social skills should be considered. This study attempted to show how technology may improve or interfere with social skills. This study involved the use of a pre-test/post-test design to compare data from the beginning of the study to the end of the five-week period. It is noted that the study was cut short due to the Coronavirus outbreak, therefore the study was completed in four-weeks rather than the original five as planned. Study results were mixed. The mean post-intervention Proactive Social Skills score (Mean = 17.33, SD = 4.41) was significantly higher than the mean pre-intervention Proactive Social Skills score (Mean =14.00, SD = 3.74) [t (5) = 3.95, p =< .011]. The mean post-intervention Appropriate Behavior score (Mean = 35.50, SD = 3.89) was not significantly different than the pre-intervention Appropriate Behavior score (Mean = 30.50, SD = 7.92) [t (5) = 2.33, p =< .067]. The mean post-intervention Overall Social Skills score (Mean = 101.33, SD = 12.91) was significantly higher than the mean pre-intervention Overall Social Skills score (Mean = 86.50, SD = 16.33) [t (5) = 5.07, p = .004].