A Comparative Study of Social Skills among Secondary Students of Conventional and Boarding Schools

Abstract

Social skills are essential for the personal, academic, and professional success of individuals. However, social skills development can be influenced by the environment and setting in which individuals are raised or studied. The present study compares social skills of secondary students of Conventional and Boarding schools in Haryana. A Sample of 200 secondary students from schools of Haryana was selected, out of them 100 were from conventional (Non-residential) and 100 were from boarding schools. The research employed a quantitative approach using a questionnaire to collect data. Social Skills scale developed by Dr. Vishal Sood, Dr. Arti Anand and Suresh Kumar (2012) was used to collect the data. The findings of the study suggest that the social skills of students from boarding schools are better than the students from conventional schools. This could be due to the fact that boarding school students spend more time in the school environment and have more opportunities to interact with peers and teachers. The boarding school experience also shapes the personality of students in a unique way. The students learn to be independent, responsible, and resilient, which helps them in their overall development. Further Boys from boarding schools and girls from traditional schools have more social skills when compared on the basis of gender.