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ERIC Number: EJ1259679
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1694-609X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Improving Social Skills through Structured Playfulness Program in Preschool Children
Tersi, Marina; Matsouka, Ourania
International Journal of Instruction, v13 n3 p259-274 Jul 2020
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a structured, playful activity program on the development of social skills in preschool aged children (4-6 years) during break time in the schoolyard of kindergarten. The participants were 40 pupils (26 toddlers and 14 pre-toddlers, 26 boys and 14 girls) from one Greek public kindergarten. Twenty (20) of them were set, as they were divided into their school classes, as control group (CG) and the rest 20, as experimental group (EG), who received activities intervention for four weeks (2 days a week). Data on children's social skills (cooperation, interaction, independence) and behavior problems (externalizing and internalizing) were collected from their teachers before and after interventional program, by completing the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS-2, Merrell, 2002). The results indicated that both groups exhibited significant improvement in the investigated social behaviors. Nevertheless, in the final measurement the intervention children showed significantly higher improvement in the externalizing problems than the control group. The findings highlight the need for early detection of developing behavioral problems and the positive effect of a playful activity structured program in the schoolyard during breaks on the development of preschoolers' social skills.
International Journal of Instruction. Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Education, Eskisehir, 26480, Turkey. e-mail: iji@ogu.edu.tr; Web site: http://www.e-iji.net
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A