The Effect of Teaching Approaches on Preschoolers’ Social Skills

The Effect of Teaching Approaches on Preschoolers’ Social Skills N. Mohammadi, Ph.D. M. Mesteri Social skills can be better fostered by teaching approaches that emphasize group work. Such skills include self-control, academic self-efficacy, persistence, leadership skills, and social communication. Teaching approaches also include work unit and project approaches. To explore the differences between these two approaches in regards to the said social skills, a sample of 383 preschoolers was questioned three times during the course of one academic year. Data analyses revealed that the overall score in social skills among the students learning through projects is much higher than that of the other group, although the work unit approach seems to better foster leadership skills. Parents, administrators, and planners need to pay attention to the learners’ strengths and weaknesses. Keywords: project approach, work unit approach, social skills, preschoolers