Educational drama program for behavior change in children with aggression tendency and peer bullying in the context of school social work

Negative behaviors can be observed in the second childhood (7-11 years). Especially in children who have been exposed to domestic violence, aggression tendency and peer bullying, which are the outward expression of negative behaviors, are observed. This situation negatively affects the developmental characteristics of children and may cause unhealthy patterns when not controlled in later ages. The aim of this study is to change the negative behavior by using positive reinforcements with educational drama practice, to develop a sense of empathy in children, and to draw attention to the importance of school social work practices by aiming to change behavior in children with aggression tendency and peer bullying. Based on the principle of the individual in his/her environment, which also lies at the basis of social work, it is necessary to consider and evaluate the child together with the systems to which he/she belongs in school social work practices. Thus, it is necessary to get to the root of the problem and mobilize the protective-preventive dimension of social work. This study aims to reveal the importance of family, school, and child triad in the prevention of aggressive behaviors and peer bullying in children, which have recently become a serious problem in our country. The method of the study was a relational survey method from quantitative research methods and a single-group quasi-experimental model was used. The study group of this research consists of a total of 27 first, second, third and fourth grade students in the Körfez district of Kocaeli province in the 2022-2023 academic year. In the experimental group, 19 special educational drama activities, intermittent repetitions, discussion and support activities were applied to the children. In order to evaluate the results of the program, Buss-Perry Aggression Scale, Peer Bullying Scale and Information Form prepared by the researcher were used to determine the characteristics of aggressive children and the prerequisites of aggression. The data obtained in the experimental group of the study were transferred to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Personal Computers (SPSS 25) package program and statistical analysis was performed to determine whether there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, t-test and ANOVA. The statistical significance level was determined as 0.05, and it was stated that there was a significant difference if p<0.05 and there was no significant difference if p>0.05. There was no statistically significant relationship between the levels of aggression scale and its sub-dimensions and the levels of peer bullying scale and its sub-dimensions (p>0.05).