Recognizing Differences: A Framework for Designing School-Based Social Skills Programs
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to determine the levels of higher-order social skills (HHSS) among secondary school students to structure an educational program that accounts for group- and gender-based differences. This article describes a new multidimensional HHSS assessment and intervention framework based on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions, enabling educators to tailor interventions according to the specific characteristics of learners. Using a combination of standardized HHSS questionnaires, observational checklists, and statistical analysis, the authors evaluated social interaction, conflict resolution, and emotional expression in 297 sixth-to eleventh-grade students at a public educational institution in Palmira, Colombia. The results indicated significant variability in HHSS by age group and gender, revealing, for example, that older female students scored 12% higher in emotional expression than younger male peers, while conflict‐resolution competencies lagged by 15% among certain male cohorts. As an example, we illustrate how the proposed framework identifies low‐empathy cohorts—students scoring below the 25th percentile in the empathy subscale—and informs targeted didactic strategies within existing curricular areas.
Our proposal allows us to improve key social‐climate indicators, such as reducing reported peer‐conflict incidents by 20% and increasing self‐reported assertive communication by 18%, by integrating HHSS modules directly into language and social studies classes. The new method for effectiveness evaluation was confirmed by the calculation of pre- and post-intervention HHSS scores, which demonstrated statistically significant gains (p < 0.01) across all three dimensions. New research results supplement existing socio-educational models by demonstrating how gender-and age‐differentiated programming can be embedded within an institution’s pedagogical model and can be used for designing context-specific HHSS programs in other schools. This study is novel because it integrates quantitative gender-and age‐segmentation data to inform the development of a scalable, evidence‐based HHSS curriculum that aligns with institutional teaching practices and directly targets social‐emotional challenges both inside and outside the school context.
Keywords: School Coexistence; Integral Education; Social Skills (HHSS); Social Interaction.
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