International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Tsiaras, A. (2016). Improving peer relations through dramatic play in primary school pupils. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 17(18). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v17n18/.

In this paper, the role of dramatic play was examined as a means of developing primary school pupils’ peer relationships. A research study was conducted in 120 public primary school classrooms in Greece. The research data came from 2428 children aged 8 through 11 years (1202 boys, 1226 girls) in an experimental process of pre-testing and post-testing, using Moreno’s sociometric test. Statistical analysis of research data revealed that dramatic play activities have positive effects in pupils’ peer relationships. Moreover, the positive effect that dramatic play has on pupils’ friendships is not related to the age of the children because the research expectations were confirmed in all experimental classrooms. Thus, more attention should be paid to a dramatic play-based curriculum in primary education if the development of pupils’ peer relationships is to be facilitated.