Social Skills, Behavior and Academic Performance in School before and after Intervention

Abstract Social skills (SS) are recognized as a protective factor in human development. The objective was to evaluate the SS, behavior problems and academic performance in children before and after SS training. 54 children (27 Intervention Group and 27 Comparison Group) participated in the study, enrolled in the 5th year of elementary school, in a municipal education network of the interior city of São Paulo state and two teachers. The training was conducted by IG teacher in the classroom and lasted about four months. The CG participants received no intervention. The children were evaluated for HS, behavior problems and academic performance before and after the intervention. The instruments used were: Academic Performance Test, Evaluation System of Social skills, formulary for teachers and the Program "I can think", that aims to develop SS. The analysis showed superior results of IG in different variables. The development of a universal nature of intervention programs indicates concrete possibilities of preventive work.