The Effect of Building Up Self-Esteem Training on Students' Social and Academic Skills 2014

This study aimed at analyzing the effect of training a sample (N = 116, ages: 7-9) of regular and special needs students in "Building Up Self-Esteem Program" on their academic and social skills in an integrated environment. The sample was randomly selected from three Lebanese schools and divided into three groups: 2 experimental groups (68 students) were trained in the year 2014 in Robert Reasoner program: "Building -up Self-esteem" and- 1 control group (48 students). Pre and post -training scores were collected from the sample on Cooper Smith Self-esteem Scale (CSES), Conner's Social skills subscale CTRS-F, and academic performance. Results revealed significant differences on these scales on the benefit of the experimental group. Findings revealed that the training had contributed in decreasing the average of Conner's subscales for the participants with special needs as compared to the members of the control group who showed an increase in these elements. Moreover, findings showed that the integration of the students with special needs with regular students had helped in decreasing the behavior problems (as it shows through the decrease of their post averages on Conner's subscales and the increase in the grade average of self-esteem and scholar achievement as compared to the control group. Results revealed the teachers' self- evaluation can have a positive impact on the students' self-esteem. Future recommendations and researches were discussed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.