Abstract

This research was conducted to explore the effect of Educational Board Games Training Programme (EBGTP) on the social skill development of the fourth graders. EBGTP is a training programme that is based on educational board games that aim to improve the social skills of the children. The pre-test/post-test model with control group was used for the research since it is a real experimental model. A total of 80 children (40 experimental subjects, 40 control subjects) were included in the research. A General Information Form and the Social Skill Evaluation Scale 7–12 (SSES 7–12) were used as data collection tool. EBGTP was formulated by the investigator, in a regular and controlled manner an hour a day, two days a week, for a period of 10 weeks, corresponding to a total of 20 hours. During the data analysis, dependent group t-tests were conducted for intra-group comparisons and independent group t-tests were used for inter-group comparisons. In conclusion, EBGTP which was provided to 40 fourth graders in primary school was detected to have a significantly positive effect on the social skill development of children.

Key words: Social skill development, educational board games, primary school education