The effect of educational games on social emotional learning, empathic tendency and peer bullying in secondary school students

Aim: In the context of the growing need for holistic and sustainable intervention approaches to support the social-emotional development of children and adolescents and to prevent the increasingly prevalent issue of bullying in schools, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of an educational game-based intervention program on middle school students' social-emotional learning (SEL), empathy levels, and bullying behaviors. Material and Method: A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was employed in the study. The sample consisted of a total of 151 middle school students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, with 84 students assigned to the experimental group and 67 to the control group. A 14-week educational game-based intervention program was implemented with the experimental group. Data were collected using the Social-Emotional Learning Scale, the Empathic Tendency Scale, and a peer bullying behavior assessment tool. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software. Following the confirmation of normality assumptions, paired samples t-test was conducted for within-group comparisons, and independent samples t-test was used for between-group comparisons. Results: The findings revealed that students in the experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in their overall social-emotional learning levels, particularly in the sub-dimensions of self-awareness, self-management, and relationship skills (p < .05). However, no statistically significant changes were observed in the domains of responsible decision-making and social awareness (p > .05). Additionally, a significant increase was found in both empathic tendencies and cognitive empathy levels among the participants (p < .05). Furthermore, verbal, emotional, and physical bullying behaviors significantly decreased following the intervention (p < .05). Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate that educational game-based interventions are an effective approach for enhancing adolescents' social-emotional competencies, fostering empathic tendencies, and reducing negative peer bullying behaviors. These results suggest that physical activity-based programs implemented in schools can provide comprehensive and multidimensional contributions to various areas of student development.