SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF THEIR PARENTS

Social skills are one of the fundamental factors that determine the quality of relationships that an individual realizes with people in his or her environment. In the interpersonal relationship, many human needs are realized, and the learning of the skills that enrich interpersonal relationships starts from the earliest days of the child's life. The paper presents the results of the research aimed at examining the social skills of elementary school pupils in relation to the educational level of their parents. The survey was carried out on the sample of elementary school students from the city of Tuzla (N = 506). As the research tool, Inventory of Social Skills (Riggio and Throckmorton) and the Questionnaire of Socio-status Characteristics were used. The social skills of the respondents were analyzed separately in relation to the educational level of the mother and father, and the results obtained point to the conclusion that there is no statistically significant difference between the social skills of elementary school students in view of the educational level of their mothers, while the differences are present in relation to the educational level of the father, that is, elementary school pupils whose fathers are of lower educational level show a higher level of development of emotional control, social sensitivity and social manipulation.