Development of primary school students' adaptation to school with creative drama

In this study, the effects of adaptation studies carried out with creative drama activities on primary school students' adaptation to school were investigated. Creative drama activities have been implemented to first grade primary school students, in order to ensure adaptation with the school, class, classmates, teachers, other students in the school, school staff, school and class rules. The activities prepared by following the creative drama processes were applied for a total of 21 hours for 7 days including the compliance week. The study group consisted of first grade students (n = 19) of a primary school in the city center of Burdur. This study, in which the adaptation program was applied with creative drama activities, was carried out by using simultaneous variation pattern from mixed research design. The pretest-posttest without control group and experimental design with case study pattern were used in coordination. Qualitative data of the research were obtained through written and individual interviews from students, parents, teachers, administrators and prospective teachers. Qualitative data obtained through interview and observations were examined through descriptive and content analysis. With the "Acquisition Evaluation Form" created according to expert opinions Quantitative data were collected before, at the end of the workshop and at the end of the study. The quantitative data obtained with this form used by the classroom teacher and the observers were compared with the "Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test" from non-parametric tests. As a result of the analysis of qualitative data; it has been revealed that creative drama activities contribute positively to the students' getting to know each other, their teachers, administrators and other employees of the school and also they can get used to each other and adapt. The study carried out has positively contributed students to communicate and cooperate, to recognize the school and the class, and to realize the school and class rules. In addition, it was observed that school adaptation studies improved social skills such as empathy by increasing interaction between school, family and student. Families participating in these studies stated that they understood their children better, felt like children and returned to their childhood years. These studies revealed that the families participating in the activities understood their children better, felt like children and returned to their childhood years. As a result of the comparison of quantitative data, it was determined that creative drama activities significantly increased the adaptation of the students. Key Words: Primary School Adaptation, Social Skill, Compliance Education, Creative Drama