Social Skills of Pupils with Mild Intellectual Disability: Do Peer Tutoring, Storytelling and Gender Play a Role?

Abstract

Background: This research examined the significant main effect of peer tutoring, storytelling, and gender, on the social skills of pupils with mild intellectual disability. Using the Social Development Theory of Lev Vygotsky as the rationale for this study, the acquisition of social skills is viewed as based on a social constructivist view of learning. Methodology: The study sample consisted of thirty-four pupils with intellectual disability, purposively selected from three schools in Ibadan Metropolis, and randomly assigned to one of the peer tutoring, storytelling, or control groups. Thirty sessions were held over ten weeks with the peer tutoring and storytelling experimental groups only. A social skills performance scale was administered before and after the intervention to collect data from these three groups. An analysis of covariance was used to examine the data collected. Results: Findings based on the analysed data revealed that there was a significant statistical difference between pre-test and post-test results of the three groups. The effect of gender on social skills of participants was significant, as was the interaction effect of treatment and gender. Conclusion: Recommendations based on the finding of this study are that peer tutoring and storytelling be adopted for teaching social skills to pupils with mild intellectual disability, and that pictorial illustration be used to enhance their reading skills.