The Effects of Board Game Activity Provision on Collaboration Skills of Young Children

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the collaboration skills of young children who participated in board game activity provision. The subjects used in this study were 18 boys and girls aged 5 - 6 years old studying in kindergarten level 3, the summer semester of the academic year 2023, at Watphairongwua School, Suphanburi primary educational service area 2 office. The tools in this study were 24 board game activity provisions for eight weeks and a collaboration behavior observation form for young children, which consists of 3 aspects, including empathy, trust, and cooperation. The quantitative analysis was illustrated by comparing means and standard deviations of collaboration skills scores before and after the board game activity provision, and the qualitative study was represented by content analysis. This study revealed that young children who have attended board game activity provision have higher collaboration skills. Before attending the board game activity, the mean of overall collaboration skills was 7.56, the standard deviations was 1.25, which increased to 15.56, the standard deviations was 1.85 after the experiment. Noteworthy, the subjects showed improvement in all three focused collaboration skills. The highest average score was cooperation skills, followed by trust and empathy. In detail, for cooperation behavior, the subjects showed enthusiasm to share opinions with others and respected decisions made by a group. For trust behavior, the subjects provided help to each other to accomplish their missions in work and play. Lastly, for empathy behavior, the subjects were able to express their feelings and respond to others’ feelings respectively.