Making manners matter: A manual of manners assessment and curriculum targeted to the fourth grade classes at Everytown Elementary

A qualitative study was carried out to establish a program intended to promote positive manners as defined by the staff at Everytown Elementary School. A manners intervention was created at the request of the school principal who felt that the children's poor manners were having a negative impact upon the zeitgeist of the school. A needs assessment and a context assessment were conducted at the site with the appropriate staff. Following the results from these assessments a ten lesson program was developed and implemented in the fourth grade classrooms. After completion of the program the children's behaviors were re-assessed to determine if they benefited from the program. There was no statistically significant change in behaviors following implementation of the program. Potential reasons for the lack of statistical significance were discussed as were suggestions for future research.