The effect of educational role-study in social studies class on accessing empathy skills

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of educational role exercises on gaining empathy skills. For this purpose, the Nested Mixed Design method was used in the research, and quasi-experimental design, one of the experimental research methods, was used when obtaining quantitative data. The study group consisted of 62 6th grade students who were assigned randomly and impartially. While the students in the experimental group taught the lessons using the role-playing method, the lessons in the control group continued without any intervention and acted according to the current program. In order to measure students' empathic tendencies, the KA-SI Empathic Tendency Scale for Adolescents and Children was used as pretest and posttest for the experimental and control groups. In the qualitative dimension of the research, a semi-structured interview form was presented to ten students in the experimental group. In addition, students in the experimental group were kept in student diaries at the end of each course. Students' opinions regarding the process, empathy skills and role-playing method were analyzed and interpreted using Content Analysis and Descriptive Analysis. According to the research results; It was observed that the empathy skills of the students in the experimental group, where the lessons were conducted with the role-playing method, increased significantly compared to the students in the control group. Students expressed positive opinions about the lessons taught using the role-playing method. Keywords: Social Studies, Empathy, Role-playing.