Social behaviors of pre-school children during in- and out-of-class play: similarities and differences.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social skills of preschoolers, 2.5 to 3.5 years of age, in physical play both indoors and outdoors as well as the possible relationships and differences between their social skills in the two environments. Eight preschool teachers and 120 preschool children participated. To collect research data, the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills With Youngsters (ΜΕSSY ΙΙ; Matson, Neal, Worley, Kozlowski, & Fodstad, 2012), after testing its reliability and validity for the Greek population (Derri, 2014), was completed by children’s teachers. The questionnaire consists of three factors/types of behavior a) hostile, b) adaptive, and c) assertive/overconfidence. Results showed a statistically significant correlation between behaviors of similar type in indoor and outdoor play. Also, there was a positive correlation between hostile and assertive behavior, and also a significant negative correlation between hostile and adaptive behavior, in both play environments. Furthermore, children presented better social behaviors in indoor play. Physical play in and out of class can be used further for teaching social skills to preschool children.