Investigating the effect of bibliotherapy and cinematherapy on improving friendship relationships of gifted students

Gifted children differ from their peers due to their asynchronous development, which can lead to various challenges. Their distinctive thought processes and interests may cause them to encounter difficulties and loneliness when interacting with peers who do not share similar interests. Gifted children tend to experience their emotions more deeply and intensely, which can make it difficult for their peers to understand them, leading to communication problems. At this point, there is a need for practices that include methods like bibliotherapy and cinema therapy, which help individuals understand themselves and others, contribute to developing a healthy understanding for coping with challenging situations, and support social-emotional development. Through experiences with characters in books and films, students can find opportunities to draw parallels with their own lives and gain a deeper understanding. This study aims to support students in improving their challenging friendship relationships through bibliotherapy and cinema therapy-based educational practices. An 8-session educational program was implemented in the study, and its impact on students' friendship relationships was examined. Group discussions were conducted using books and films themed around friendship. Group discussions were conducted using books and films with a friendship theme. A total of 36 students from the 5th and 6th grades, who are gifted, participated in the study, divided into two different experimental groups (24 students-12 in bibliotherapy and 12 in cinema therapy) and a control group (12 students). This study was conducted using a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. In the first phase, quantitative data were collected, followed by an in-depth qualitative examination of the issues identified from the quantitative data. The analysis of the quantitative data was carried out using the SPSS 26.00 software. For data collection, a "Personal Information Form," the "Friendship Quality Scale," and a "Semi-Structured Interview Form" were used. Non-parametric tests were employed for the analysis of quantitative data, while descriptive analysis was used for evaluating the qualitative data. The results revealed a significant difference in favor of the post-test in the intervention groups where the bibliotherapy and cinema therapy programs were implemented. Qualitative analyses indicated an increase in positive friendship relationships among participants in the educational program. The social validity of both programs was also examined within the scope of the study. When evaluating social validity, it was concluded that the program had a high level of benefit and impact based on student feedback. This study demonstrated that it contributed to the improvement of friendship relationships among gifted students, and due to the limited number of studies in this field, it is expected to provide a significant contribution to the literature. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made for researchers and practitioners.