The effect of preschool games on the mental and social skills of children in preschool centers in district one of Shiraz in the academic year of 1992-93

Dissertation for Master's Degree (M.A.) Orientation: Preschool Education

Abstract

     The current research is a quasi-experimental type study

a control and experimental group, which deals with the effect of preschool games on the mental and social skills of children in preschool centers in district one of Shiraz city in the academic year 93-92.

      The statistical population includes There are 3086 preschool children who were studying in the age group of 5 to 6 years, of which 60 people were randomly selected as a sample of the study. The research participants were divided into two control and experimental groups. After equalizing the groups, first of all the participants, 30 of whom were boys and 30 of whom were girls, the Gestalt visual-motor pre-test was taken from the children in order to measure mental skills, and Matson's Social Skills Questionnaire (1983) was given to the teachers in order to measure children's social skills. Then 15 people from each group were randomly selected as the experimental group and 15 people were selected as the control group, and the games were taught to the experimental groups during two months and two sessions of one and a half hours each week. After training the games, the tests were repeated again, then the obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) test. The results of the research showed that the effects of games on the mental and social skills of children in the experimental group were significant compared to those in the control group. Keywords: preschool games, mental skills, social skills, preschool children: Humans are born with a set of their own characteristics. These characteristics are directly related to human biological life, that is, without them, it is not possible for humans to continue living and surviving. These characteristics include eating, drinking, breathing, etc. At the same time, other characteristics gradually appear in humans with age. These secondary characteristics are undoubtedly the result of the child's interaction with the environment, and in fact, the mutual effects of heredity and the environment on the child. Among these characteristics are the child's mental development and the child's desire for group activities and communication with others, which these activities in Pre-primary age is mostly manifested in the form of games. Considering this issue, the role of parents and educational coach can be a decisive role in guiding and developing such activities towards the development of the child's mental and social skills in the right direction.   

     The movement capacity of the child evolves simultaneously with physiological development and also based on how to interact with the surrounding people, which gives order, direction and coherence to the child's developmental field. The game provides conditions for the child based on which he can explore the world around him and provides the possibility of wide and all-round growth of the child (Dasetan, 2016).

Today, the importance and value of the game in childhood has been fully confirmed by extensive researches. The game affects the physical, emotional, mental, educational, moral, personality, and social development and has diagnostic and therapeutic value as well (Moghadam, 2006).

Although since the time of Michel Mantini, the great philosopher and trainer of the Renaissance period, the game has been the special attention of educational scientists, but in no era has the game been studied and researched by psychologists as much as in our time. New researches have shown that play has a great impact on the physical and mental development of children (Majesti, 2013).

Play is not a thing without the presence of the mind or without structure, but an inseparable part of our lives. It is an effective tool for optimal functioning, effective in adulthood and covering cognitive development (Holzinga, 1950; quoted by Mongillo [1], 2006).

Playing games will not only increase learning and intelligence growth, but also follow the rules, principles and educational games. It is necessary for the development of intelligence (Mehjoor, 2016).

According to the theories of "Piaget and Vygotsky", play is the main factor in a child's cognitive development. It is also one of the purest ways of thinking available for minors. In the form of play, children achieve balance by understanding realities and controlling personal skills (Angji and Asgari, 2015). Researchers such as Kefart, Hartman, and Jane Ayers consider movement and activity as the basis of learning and a basis for mental transformation.They emphasize the inseparability of mental and physical forces in the implementation of any movement pattern in the early stages of education, as a basic principle (Kfarat et al., quoted by Musharraf Javadi, 2017). Therefore, considering the movement aspects and their analysis is necessary to understand the development of mental abilities (Dosant, 2019). Mental abilities cannot be separated from the basic motor abilities. Therefore, studying these types of movements and providing the possibility of their cultivation and growth will strengthen and even restore mental abilities. According to Piaget, the child's development depends a lot on the manipulation of his involvement in the environment and his interaction with it. He believes that awareness is achieved through performance (Slavin, translated by Seyed Mohammadi, 2015). Children should learn various social skills in order to adapt themselves to the society in which they live. The motor development and active participation of the child in various motor games forms the basis of his emotional-social, psycho-motor and cognitive development, so in order to train and change the social and mental skills of children, you should try to strengthen and enrich their environment before entering elementary school, because while searching in the environment, children encounter events that attract their interest. They are especially affected by events that are relatively recent, that is, events that do not completely match their previous experiences. Therefore, the task of preschool education is to increase ability rather than knowledge, because the child does not think completely logically at the beginning, and it is necessary to provide stages that expand the child's logical thinking stages. A child's mind develops well when it is active. A child learns well only what he has learned through observation, reflection, experience and personal activity. Meanwhile, children's games - organized and guided games and free games - play a unique role in accelerating and strengthening their abilities (Piaget, 1964; Smilinsky [3], 1968; Papalia and Eldez, [4] 1992).

Many education instructors have pointed to the role of games as one of the most desirable factors of education. Montessori, Froebel, Decrouli, Piaget and Ganier are among those who used educational games to teach children educational concepts and emphasized its use as the main means of teaching children to learn various subjects. It is in the preschool period. Movement is a means of communication and education, and with it, basic concepts such as weight, orientation, shape, quantity and quality, time and space, and space perception can be taught to children, because theoretical education is boring for children of preschool age, while children of this age are in the middle of the pre-operational period, and it is not possible for them to understand theoretical concepts without practice and it takes time (Jensen, 2002).

1-2- Expression Problem:

   In the past, it was thought that the game is just an activity that is used by children in order to pass time and sometimes enjoy themselves, and no other benefit is obtained from it. But, today, the use of games in the field of treatment and education for children has been expanded, and this is because the game, as an enjoyable activity for children, is the best tool for communicating and changing their behavior. In addition to the purposeful uses of the game, the process of children playing with their peers or with adults has many benefits such as facilitating the cognitive, social, emotional and physical development of children. Play is a natural part of childhood and is an activity that is done purely for enjoyment and has no ulterior motive. The game is the child's own desire, children play for themselves and do not expect to be penalized or rewarded such as chocolate, justification or money. Adults tend to consider play a trivial activity. But playing has a significant effect on the social and personality development of a child, and this effect continues throughout life. The game uses the child's abilities and brings creativity. During the game, the child uses his senses more and this action strengthens his senses.