This is a pretest-posttest research that purposed to improve isolated children’s social skills and reduce their social and emotional isolation through the application of play-based self-expression training program. The subjects of this study were 8 ...
This is a pretest-posttest research that purposed to improve isolated children’s social skills and reduce their social and emotional isolation through the application of play-based self-expression training program. The subjects of this study were 8 fifth-grade students that got a score of social and emotional isolation higher than 100.96 (M+1SD). The play-based self-expression training program was consisted of 10 sessions, twice in a sessions per week, and 60~80 minutes per session. The effects of the program were analyzed by measuring and comparing self-report social skills, teacher-report social skills and social and emotional isolation before and after the treatment and examining behavioral changes during the sessions and between before and after the training.
The results of this research are as follows:
First, after treatment, the children showed the increase of the average scores in social skills. In addition, during the sessions, they showed increases the postive relation with other children and expression of their treatment.
Second, the children’s social skills reported by the teacher were improved after the training compared to them before the treatment. In addition, the behaviors of postive relation with other children and expression their thought increased further after the postive relation.
Third, the children’s social and emotional isolation measured using a social and emotional isolation scale decreased after the treatment compared to that before the treatment.
Summing up the results of this study, the play-based self-expression program was effective in improving isolated children’s social skills and reducing their social and emotional isolation.