Abstract:
The study investigated the Effect of Cognitive Restructuring on Social Competence of Pupils with Social Withdrawal Behaviour. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were generated to guide the study. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental non-equivalent pretest-posttest research design involving one experimental and one control group. The sample consists of eighteen (18) socially withdrawn primary school class five pupils from two schools in Igbo-Etiti L.G.A in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. Two instruments used for the study were an adapted Social Withdrawal Identification Scale (SWIS) and Social Competence Rating Scale (SCRS). These were validated by experts and used for data collection. Mean and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions, while analysis of covariance was used to test the null hypotheses. Major findings of the study reveal that exposing Socially Withdrawn pupils in the skills associated with cognitive restructuring has an enhanced effect on their Social Competence. Maleness and femaleness did not have any significant effect on the mean social competence scores of those exposed to cognitive restructuring and those that were not. The interaction effect of gender and treatment on social competence of pupils with Social Withdrawal behaviour was not significant. Based on these findings, conclusions were drawn and educational implications discussed. Major recommendations made were: to educate and expose both the pre-service and in-service teachers to the skills of cognitive restructuring that can enable them imbibe it to pupils especially the Socially Withdrawn for effective social interactions in the classroom. Teachers should encourage the Socially Withdrawn pupils to demonstrate adequate social relationships with their peers in and outside the school environment. More so, both male and female socially withdrawn pupils should be exposed to cognitive restructuring without any form of gender bias since they all benefit equally from such exposure.
