Socio-emotional learning strategies through narratives and dramatization in early childhood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69821/DISCE.v2i1.45Keywords:
Preschool education, Social-emotional learning, Storytelling, Dramatization, Symbolic playAbstract
This article examines the effect of a brief social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention based on narratives and dramatization (stories dictated by children and staged in the classroom) in Early Childhood Education. Eighty-four children aged 4–5 years (44 intervention; 40 control) from two urban public centers participated. Over eight weeks, the intervention group carried out three weekly sessions (25–30 minutes) following a sequence that combined guided storytelling, dictation of children’s own stories, dramatic play, and emotional reflection at the end. A quasi-experimental design with pretest–posttest and an equivalent control group was applied. The results (ANCOVA controlling for pretest and classroom) show significant increases in prosocial behavior (d = 0.54), cooperation in play (d = 0.48), and observed self-regulation (d = 0.45), measured with the SDQ (teacher version) and a play engagement observation protocol. Effects were greater among students with lower initial performance in oral language. The discussion triangulates these findings with international evidence on SEL programs and with national curricular guidelines for early childhood. It is concluded that integrating short cycles of narrative and dramatization is a feasible and low-cost way to strengthen social-emotional competencies in Early Childhood Education.
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