The impact of creative drama activities on aggressive behaviour of preschool children

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a research study examining the impact of creative puppetry activities on aggressive behaviour in preschool children. The aim of creative drama was to allow for experiences that help children understand interpersonal relations, put themselves in another’s shoes and see alternative possibilities of behaving or acting in given situations. Play with a puppet in small groups offers children opportunities to establish pro-social peer interactions and learn socialisation skills including solving minor conflicts. The research was conducted with 22 preschool teachers in Slovenian preschools and first grades of elementary schools (including 460 children aged 4–7). The teachers completed a scale of social behaviour for each child in the group before introducing the puppetry activities and after concluding them, i.e. after three months of intense, daily creative work with puppets. The paired difference t-test showed that according to the teachers’ assessments after the three-month conduct of creative puppetry activities in the group, the frequency of the occurrence of aggressive behaviour in the total population was diminished, especially in the children who had the lowest scores in the initial assessment.

Keywords

Creative drama puppets preschool education aggressive behaviour social relationship

Introduction

Humans are distinctly social beings who can realise themselves through relationships with others. Interpersonal communication is the foundation of mutual influence, or giving and receiving. An individual’s psychophysical, cognitive, social and emotional development is influenced by the quality of interpersonal communication. According to Vygotsky (1978), a child’s cognitive development mainly takes place in the context of social relationships. The starting point of his theory is that cognitive abilities depend more on an individual’s activity in social institutions of culture during their upbringing than on innate factors.

While experiences in the family play one of the most important roles in a child’s social development, an increasing number of studies show that children’s peer play is also important (Brajša Žganec, 2003; Katz and McClellan, 2005). If children are rejected by their peers or are prevented in some other way from learning how to get by in society, an essential source of social information is lost (Katz and McClellan, 2005). Friendships formed in the preschool period create a valuable context for learning and testing the skills that are crucial for a child’s social, cognitive, communication and emotional development (Guralnick et al., 2007; in Yu et al., 2011). Moreover, children look for social support from their friends to be more adept at coping with stress and changes in life, and to support their own cognitive and social development (Berndt, 1989; in Brajša Žganec, 2003).

Creative puppet workshops are an excellent opportunity to foster different peer interactions and forge friendly ties in groups of preschool and elementary school children. In this context, learning through drama activities can be a successful method for developing qualities such as empathy, self-confidence, self-control, tolerance towards others and the ability to focus, listen and work co-operatively in groups. Unavoidably, drama activities are a social form of art in which children cannot participate without making connections, agreements and communicating with others in the group. Özbek (2014) writes about an integrative approach, which combines the method of creative drama and drama in education and, amongst other things, highlights goals related to holistic development, such as positive self-concept, increasing self-awareness and awareness towards others, as well as communication in social skills.

Therefore, there is a dual relationship between drama and such skills, which are prerequisites for drama as well as being exercised in drama. Because the successful enjoyment of drama depends upon the practice and use of these skills, drama can be an exceptionally effective platform for children to develop them through experience. (Winston and Tandy, 2005: 107)

Peer relations and aggressive behaviour

Kemple (2004) writes that peer relations provide opportunities for a child to interact with relatively equal partners. The equality in peer interaction presents several challenges for the child and diverse opportunities to take on roles that are different from those in their relationships with adults. The peer group represents a special context in which children learn and test the ‘give and take’ system, which is important for competent social interaction (Hartup and Moore, 1991; in Kemple, 2004).

Children who do not manage to establish satisfactory peer relationships, particularly those who are rejected by peers for being aggressive, may form subgroups with similar children, offering them social and emotional support. The subgroup members’ feelings of belonging depend on the group intolerance and disinclination towards the wider group that had rejected them (Katz and McClellan, 2005).

The child’s likeability, or lack thereof, considerably influences how they feel in the group; the child’s acceptance or rejection by the peer group has consequences for their future adjustment and mental health (Schaffer, 1996). Children who are likeable amongst their peers and those who are assessed as socially skilful by their parents and teachers mainly are able to control their anger. They do not tend to trigger new conflicts and can keep a relationship (Papalia et al., 2003). If a child does not learn how to appropriately recognise and sufficiently understand the emotions of people in their environment, it is in turn difficult for them to learn social norms, customs and rules of behaviour in their group. Regulation of emotions plays an important role in the process of socialisation, as the inability to regulate emotions influences children’s interaction with their environment and their learning of social norms and rules of behaviour (Brajša Žganec, 2003). Children who better understand others’ beliefs and emotions less often enter into conflicts with their friends and more frequently co-operate with them in diverse activities (Marjanovič-Umek and Fekonja Peklaj, 2008). It is the play with the puppet, which the teacher organises according to the principles of creative drama, that enables children to recognise their own emotions in interpersonal interactions as well as understand those of others.

According to Putallaz and Gottman (1981; in Katz and McClellan, 2005) a tendency to have problems later in life can be seen in adults who had socialisation problems in their early childhood (perhaps resulting from neglect, rejection and a limited number of positive peer interactions). Early peer status can predict a later psychological adjustment. This is particularly evident in rejected children, who are classified as facing the highest risk for later social maladjustments. While reserved children tend to develop internalising problems, rejected children, stigmatised with aggressive behaviour, tend to develop externalising problems (Schaffer, 1996).

We often speak about aggressive behaviour as the kind of behaviour that is undesirable. Typically, it shows antisocial tendencies, which, despite being part of human nature, children have to quickly learn how to control and redirect. Being a part of human nature, aggressive behaviour has an adaptive value in the history of humankind. Without our capacity for aggression we would not have survived. Undoubtedly, however, a high level of individual aggression can present a threat to social order. While each aggressive act is not always antisocial, depending on its aim and level as well as society’s demands and expectations, each society sets specific requirements for the control of aggression (Schaffer, 1996).

Žužul (1989; in Brajša Žganec, 2003) defines aggressive behaviour as every action, performed to cause damage or injury of any kind to others regardless of whether the intention was fully realised or not. Children with highly aggressive behaviour belong to the group at risk of being rejected by their peers. Early aggressive behaviour is a strong predictor of later antisocial behaviour, violence and serious adjustment problems (Kemple, 2004). Aggressive behaviour can also have a positive meaning related to self-preservation or self-affirmation. Moreover, it can represent an active approach to the environment that shows that the child can stand up for themselves, assert their will and develop independence (Puklek and Gril, 1999; in Marjanovič-Umek and Zupančič, 2004). Katz and McClellan (2005) write that aggressive behaviour is amongst the biggest problems to be faced by teachers and preschool teachers. Teachers may provide a safe environment in a group, while also playing an important role in offering help to the child in changing aggression into socially acceptable behaviour.

To provide specific support to children who lack the skills for making friends, Dowling (2000) suggests that teachers work in small groups, using puppets and miniature dolls to tell a story and then initiate discussion on a topic. Research by Ivon (2005) showed differences in the occurrence of social play in a group during spontaneous play with a puppet, and a control group in which puppets were rarely or never used. Ivon (2005) also found differences in the occurrence of social play in a group during spontaneous play with a puppet, and a control group in which puppets were rarely or never used. In the experimental group, the play in pairs or small groups was significantly more frequent. Such forms of play enable good interaction and help build friendships. In regard to advantages of play in pairs or in a small group as flexible social forms, Ivon found that children who interact daily with the preschool teacher through a puppet also prefer to play in these two forms.

Creative drama and puppets in the development of social skills

By introducing play with puppets according to the principles of creative drama (Siks, 1981; McCaslin, 2006) we created situations allowing children to actively participate in creating puppet stories, in which they were enabled and encouraged to co-operate, communicate, make agreements, share ideas and be creative with the aim to carry out their team task (Ahmad, et al. 2008; Vallerand, et al., 1986). Somers (2005) sees drama as an alternative pedagogy as it includes stories through which interpersonal relationships can be explored. Dramatic experience contributes to achieving changes more so than, for example, critical discussions or the use of video. This is because we participate in drama personally and actively, with all our senses and our whole body. If we aim for a more problem oriented approach that foregrounds social skills, empathy, tolerance and integral development, creative drama has much to offer. In creative drama, preschool children can learn to take responsibility and make group decisions, work co-operatively, develop new interests and look for new information. An activity is often proposed through a story, poetry, an authentic idea or music created by children or adults. Cooper (2017) writes that drama offers children the opportunity to explore the world through the story. In drama, they get an opportunity to articulate frustrations, which they cannot do in their everyday life. In the safe shelter of fiction, they develop empathy, co-operation and learn to control their emotions.

One of the central advantages of creative puppetry workshops lies in the opportunity to co-operate and learn social skills while preparing a common project. Psycho-socially, theatrical puppet plays enable numerous possibilities for comprehensive child development, by making communication easier, enabling quality organisation of spare time, contributing to the improvement of one’s own body-image and self-image as well as offering an opportunity for the appropriate solution of problems with authority (since the teacher’s, mentor’s or therapist’s authority is formed through co-operation). They help establish healthy interpersonal and group relations and give the child a sense of belonging. All this importantly contributes to an individual’s socialisation (Petrović, 2013). ‘Drama provides models of human behaviour and human relationships. /…/. Drama incorporates not just the physical shape of the conflict, but the emotional content and subjective meanings for the characters’ (O’Toole et al., 2005). In an educational drama, children’s social skills develop naturally and spontaneously through the need for co-operation and play with other members of the group (Mavroudis and Bournelli, 2016).

A successful approach to dealing with violence and conflicts in schools through drama was developed by O’Toole et al. (2005) finding typical connections between drama and conflict solving. For example, the main poles in conflict are defined by the terms ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’, which come from Greek drama. The central elements of drama are dramatic tension and the expectation of the final resolution of this tension. Dramatic actions include dialogue, opposition, negotiation and argumentation; all in the service of resolving the dramatic tension in the theatre, and in conflict.

In the study (Korošec, 2012) of the inclusion of puppets in the educational process, preschool teachers reported that in the process of creative play with puppets, children tend to spontaneously divide into groups or pairs and start playing without any prior adult encouragement. All children participate regardless of their capabilities and learning outcomes. They become involved in dynamic communication, are interested in what they are doing and strive towards a common aim – the preparation of a scene.

In our research, the teachers used puppets in the creative drama process. Puppets were included in the daily life of the preschool in various ways during the daily routine, guided activities or as an emotional haven for individual children. Curricular themes can be introduced through stories, and stories can also help develop an attitude towards theatre. We propose various ways for the use of the puppet in early education:

– Puppet, the beloved of the group: the puppet is present in various everyday situations and habits of the group (how we arrive and come into the preschool centre and leave to go home, behaviour at lunch, at rest, solving small conflicts, during naps, during various daily chores);

– Certain subject-matter of the curriculum with stories and puppets: various simple puppetry techniques help us achieve curricular goals, offer better motivation for work, memorising and understanding of the learning content;

– Project work with the puppet: the puppet appears in the group with a certain problem. The children help the puppet solve the problem, getting acquainted with their environment;

– Motivation through the puppet: for the introductory motivation the preschool teacher speaks to children through the puppet or performs an informal, improvised scene with two or more puppets, presenting a dialogue between the puppets;

– Expressing emotions, experiencing the world: (symbolic value of playing with a puppet). The puppet is an outstanding motivational tool for elevating the children’s emotional and social potential, because it requires that children feel empathy with the puppet and its experiences;

– From spontaneous to dramatic play: puppet shows have an extraordinary pedagogical power as they are watched or performed by children themselves. Children learn through two models of social learning. When they are in the role of the audience, they take part in observational learning, while active co-operation in the show influences children’s creativity and their emotional, social and intellectual development (Korošec, 2007; Smilansky, 1968). Puppet-theatre shows can either be improvisations or dramatisations, i.e. adaptations of artistic texts.

Preschool teachers who guide children in creative puppetry activities report that children who tend to be excluded in regular activities are equally included in the group during puppetry activities and contribute an important part to the final creation, which has a significant impact on their self-image. Not unimportantly, children enjoy these activities; they relax and are willing to participate in dialogue, which makes their learning of social skills easier. Children are offered experiential learning of positive interpersonal relations. During play with the puppet they learn how to communicate, socialise and solve minor conflicts. They develop solidarity, interpersonal help and tolerance of differences. Social differences and stigmatisations are forgotten in the aim of sharing ideas and improvising scenes (Korošec, 2012). One of the teachers reported:

Since September we had a lot of work with establishing relationships in the group. If I wrote that until about New Year it was only the group rules that we had worked on, this is only a mild presentation of the situation of the first few months. I say this, because I am really proud of the progress the children have made, starting to co-operate amongst themselves, playing with and talking to each other. Since September, there have been a lot of conflicts in the group, and restlessness. Now, this is no longer the case, and ever since we have had the puppets, there has been a great change. During this past month, I almost have not noticed any physical fights, that before were frequent.

As Debouny (2002: 72) writes, pupils should learn how to listen, try to understand, substantiate their thinking, compare their ideas with others, develop critical thinking, accept decisions and adopt the final group decision – although sometimes this can be frustrating, especially if somebody else’s idea is chosen. The fundamental dimensions of co-operation include sharing a common interest based on teamwork or a team-task, working together (in a group) towards a common goal and developing positive interdependence (Ahmad et al., 2008).

The many different emotions that children experience daily need a healthy, free outlet. Children need to find a way to express strong emotions in an acceptable way. This is offered to them by play with puppets. By playing a corresponding scene, the child can express and release emotions that we all feel from time to time, such as anger, fear, jealousy and negativity, and resolve internal conflicts. Relationships from the child’s environment can also be reflected through this play. ‘Numerous symbolic and real puppets enable play that connects the subconscious and conscious. In play with the puppet the conflict is acted out with all its might, thus, losing its strength and energy charge’ (Bastašić, 1990: 36). With the help of a puppet, a preschool teacher gets to know the children and can establish individual relations with individual children. In their play with puppets, children express their emotions and relationship to the world, providing an opportunity for the teacher to observe, through their own expression, the children’s experiences and emotions, which might otherwise remain unnoticed.

In our previous studies, we used qualitative approach to research the role of puppet in educational process from different points of view: a puppet as the didactical tool, the puppet’s role in communication between children and adults and between children (Korošec, 2004, 2005, 2012). These studies showed that teachers noticed less aggression and discipline problems in theirs classes. Even the children, who usually disturbed the educational work, participated in puppet play and enjoyed. The animated puppet had drawn the attention of children, who became willing to do the work carefully and quickly for the puppet. The teachers reported that their communication with children improved with the help of the puppet. Puppets sensitised the teacher to notice emotions and characteristics of children, which would be impossible during classic lessons. Because of the puppet play with the teacher, the children also trusted the teacher more. The educational process was dynamic and all children were included into work regardless of their intellectual and communication skills. Puppets made the communication more relaxed and the children were more open for the acquiring of new knowledge. An important finding is also that shy children and children with learning and speaking difficulties were included in the communication with the puppet. Especially because in previous studies many teachers reported positive changes in social behaviour of preschool children, in this study we wanted to research if puppet play reduces aggressive behaviour by using bigger sample and quantitative methods.

The research

Problem and research aim

The impact of creative drama using puppets on the change in aggressive behaviour after the teachers’ assessments was examined within a wider research study into the impact of play with puppets on the social behaviour of preschool children.

Our preliminary studies (Korošec, 2005, 2012) show that teachers rarely use puppets in the classroom. Also in this study, before participating in the training course the selected group of teachers were checked for their views and experience with puppets. It was found that before training almost a quarter (25%) of all the teachers participating in the training had never used puppets in their work, and a good quarter (26.97%) used them once or twice a month. Only a good quarter of teachers reported using puppets every day (11.24%) or at least twice a week (13.48%). Moreover, it is very important to find that before our training course preschool teachers only used puppets following the model of work used in professional puppet theatres, that is learning the text, distributing the roles to children, ‘directing’ the play, while the children only participate to a small degree or not at all.

Preschool teachers participated in courses on puppetry/drama activities, after which they performed diverse puppetry activities in their respective classes daily over three months. They were offered the most diverse ways of including puppets in children’s everyday lives at the preschool centre: the puppet was included in the daily routine as the beloved friend to the group, the making of simple puppets, spontaneous play with puppets, playing of scenes, connections between different parts of the curriculum with the puppet and conversation through the puppet. The research hypothesis was that a process–developmental approach to play/creative work with the puppet enables children to better co-operate and connect with each other and share ideas, and that this approach to puppetry/drama activities will bring changes in social behaviour, which contribute to the development of the social competence of children.

The aim of the research was to establish whether regular and continuous use of puppets, according to the principles of creative drama, contributed to positive changes in the aggressive behaviour of preschool children with regard to preschool teachers’ assessments.

Sampling

Empirical research was conducted with a group of preschool teachers from preschools and first grade classes of primary schools in various regions of Slovenia who were undertaking part-time study of Preschool Education at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana. This comprised 30 hours of education in puppetry and drama activities in preschool, and was delivered by the researchers themselves. Twenty-two preschool teachers working with children aged 4–7 participated in the research study.

Four hundred and sixty-two children aged 4–7 from different preschools and primary schools across Slovenia were included in the research.

Respecting the ethics of research

At the initial informative lecture, the method, purpose and benefit of the study were presented to the participants of the training course. They were each given the code-mark that was agreed upon, so that data could be monitored and statistically processed. Only those children were included in the study whose parents signed the agreement of participation. The participants of the training then signed the protocol of co-operation including a detailed specification of the relationship of co-operation and responsibility.

The process of data collection and data processing

The teachers’ perceptions of changes in the social behaviour of children in the class were measured with Child Social Behaviour Rating Scale, consisting of 24 items. The scale was designed by the authors of this paper on the basis of expert literature (Goodman, 2001; Ivon, 2005; Katz and McClellan, 2005; Kroflič, 1999; Zupančič and Kavčič, 2007). Using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the Scale achieved sufficient reliability and validity, with the pre-test value of α = 0.89, with the first factor explaining 31.44% of the variance and the post-test value of α = 0.91 with the first factor explaining 33.90% of the variance. This scale was completed by the teachers for all of the children in the group before practical implementation of puppetry activities and after three months of daily and continued use of puppets in the class. The teachers were trained on how to use the rating scale in our training course.

The appraisals of the frequency of a behaviour in individual children were given on a five-point rating scale from 1 – never behaves like this to 5 – almost always behaves like this.

Factor analysis was used to identify latent variables or system factors that explain a latent structure of connections between manifest variables. Seven factors were obtained. Seven variables were classified under the first factor: Gets very angry (shouts, hits, damages things) if she/he does not get their way; Argues with other children; In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will; Breaks rules and agreements; Ignores opinions and feelings of other children, if she/he want to obtain something; Often fights with other children and teases them; Is a telltale. We named this factor ‘aggressive behaviour’.

With the t-test for even numbered comparisons, the degree of statistical significance was established for the differences between arithmetic means for individual variables and for the summary variables before the introduction of puppetry activities and after three months of carrying out the activities. The statistical significance of differences was estimated at an error probability of p < 0.05. The analysis of changes in aggressive behaviour of children was then carried out for the total observed population and separately for the 10% of children who had reached the lowest values in the initial rating. We named this group of children the lowest-score group (LSG). The results for each separate variable and for the summary variable for the category of aggressive behaviour are presented below.

Results

Aggressive behaviour in the total population of the assessed children

After the training course the teachers’ work with the puppets was positively changed to start encouraging children’s imagination, their contribution of ideas, creation of the story, making of the puppets and carrying out of an improvised performance. The teachers mainly played the role of observers, organisers of supportive environment and promoters of the making of children’s creations. This kind of work principle allows for more interactions, more agreement-making and co-operation, and enhances the development of the child’s creativity.

The results of the arithmetic means of the summary variable and of each individual variable for aggressive behaviour as assessed by the teachers, and the results of the t-test for the total assessed population are presented below (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Parameters of descriptive statistics and the t-test for aggressive behaviour of the total population of the assessed children.

		Descriptive statistic			t-test
Variables	Phase	N	Arithm. means	Stand. deviation	t	df	Sig.
Aggressive behaviour	Initial	433	3.81	0.83	−8.581	432	0.00
Aggressive behaviour	Final	433	4.03	0.77	−8.581	432	0.00
Gets very angry (shouts, hits, damages things) if she/he does not get their way. (V2)	Initial	459	4.22	1.01	−5.94	458	0.00
	Final	459	4.42	0.86	−5.94	458	0.00
Argues with other children. (V5)	Initial	449	3.70	0.99	−5.40	448	0.00
Argues with other children. (V5)	Final	449	3.91	0.93	−5.40	448	0.00
In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will. (V6)	Initial	459	3.63	1.05	−5.04	458	0.00
	Final	459	3.84	1.03	−5.04	458	0.00
Breaks rules and agreements. (V8)	Initial	450	3.79	1.02	−5.40	449	0.00
Breaks rules and agreements. (V8)	Final	450	3.98	0.95	−5.40	449	0.00
Ignores opinions and feelings of other children, if she/he wants to obtain something. (V9)	Initial	458	3.87	0.99	−5.77	457	0.00
	Final	458	4.09	0.91	−5.77	457	0.00
Often fights with other children and teases them. (V13)	Initial	459	4.07	1.09	−5.06	458	0.00
Often fights with other children and teases them. (V13)	Final	459	4.25	0.96	−5.06	458	0.00
Is a telltale. (V18)	Initial	453	3.40	0.98	−5.35	452	0.00
Is a telltale. (V18)	Final	453	3.61	0.97	−5.35	452	0.00

A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) has been observed in the aggressive behaviour of children according to their teacher’s assessment before the introduction of puppetry activities and after three months of their implementation. Statistically significant differences were noticed in all variables of aggressive behaviour and in the summary variable.

Table 1 shows that the initial value of the arithmetic mean for the summary variable is 3.81, and its final value is 4.03. According to their teacher’s assessment there is an increase in the non-aggressive behaviour of children.

As expected, the average assessment values of the frequency of aggressive behaviour were low, even in the beginning. The lowest mean value and, in turn, the most frequent behaviour is found in the variable ‘Is a telltale’ (3.40), followed by ‘In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will’ (3.63) and ‘Argues with other children’ (3.70). The variable ‘Is a telltale’ also has the lowest mean value in the final measurement (3.61). Behaviours whereby children show physical aggression occur to a smaller extent. Initially, the mean value of item ‘Often fights with other children and teases them’ was 4.07, and the mean value of item ‘Gets very angry (shouts, hits, damages things) if she/he does not get their way’ was 4.22, which means that such behaviour almost never occurs. The biggest differences in the arithmetic means between the initial and final measurements were found in the variable ‘Ignores opinions and feelings of other children, if she/he wants to obtain something’ (0.22), in which the final estimate of behaviour is 4.09. Compared to the final estimate of other variables, this is a large difference. Large differences between the arithmetic means of the initial and final measurements, i.e. a rather positive change, are found in the items ‘Argues with other children’, ‘In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will’ and ‘Is a telltale’, where the difference is 0.21. The most positive result, and, thus, the rarest occurrence of the behaviour is noticed in the ‘Gets very angry (shouts, hits, damages things) if she/he does not get their way’ item with the mean value of 4.42 in the final measurement and a difference of only 0.20 in arithmetic means. On final measurement, the following variables were found to have a mean value below 4.00 (Rarely behaves like this) ‘Is a telltale’ (3.61), ‘In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will’ (3.84), ‘Argues with other children’ (3.91) and ‘Breaks rules and agreements’ (3.98).

Aggressive behaviour for 10% of children with the lowest scores in the initial assessment

Table 2 shows the results of the descriptive statistics and the t-test for the summary variable aggressive behaviour and for individual variables from this group for the 10% of children who, in the initial assessment, achieved the lowest scores in the aforementioned items. The results show that in the initial assessment, the mean values in all variables are essentially lower (which means a higher degree of aggressive behaviour) than in the total assessed population.

Table 2.

Parameters of descriptive statistics and the t-test for aggressive behaviour for the lowest-score group (LSG).

		Descriptive statistic			t-test
Variables	Phase	N	Arithm. means	Stand. deviation	t	df	Sig.
Aggressive behaviour	Initial	50	2.18	0.32	−6.19	49	0.00
Aggressive behaviour	Final	50	2.82	0.72	−6.19	49	0.00
Gets very angry (shouts, hits, damages things) if she/he does not get their way. (V2)	Initial	50	2.44	0.95	−5.31	49	0.00
	Final	50	3.14	1.01	−5.31	49	0.00
Argues with other children. (V5)	Initial	50	2.08	0.57	−4.20	49	0.00
Argues with other children. (V5)	Final	50	2.68	0.87	−4.20	49	0.00
In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will. (V6)	Initial	50	1.94	0.62	−5.42	49	0.00
	Final	50	2.68	0.96	−5.42	49	0.00
Breaks rules and agreements. (V8)	Initial	50	2.24	0.77	−4.05	49	0.00
Breaks rules and agreements. (V8)	Final	50	2.72	0.97	−4.05	49	0.00
Ignores opinions and feelings of other children, if she/he wants to obtain something. (V9)	Initial	50	2.16	0.62	−4.60	49	0.00
	Final	50	2.90	0.91	−4.60	49	0.00
Often fights with other children and teases them. (V13)	Initial	50	1.94	0.62	−6.26	49	0.00
Often fights with other children and teases them. (V13)	Final	50	2.74	0.85	−6.26	49	0.00
Is a telltale. (V18)	Initial	50	2.50	0.86	−2.77	49	0.01
Is a telltale. (V18)	Final	50	2.92	1.08	−2.77	49	0.01

These are children with more frequent occurrences of aggressive behaviour as assessed by teachers, i.e. children with low social competence. In the initial teachers’ assessments of the social behaviour of these children, the average assessment score for the summary variable aggressive behaviour was only 2.18, while in the final estimate, this value amounted to 2.82. This result shows a significant drop in aggressive behaviour according to teachers’ assessments (much larger than in the total population) or substantial progress in the development of social competence in these children. The results are complemented by the records made by the preschool teachers who carried out puppetry activities in their classes.

The teacher Simona in a group of 2–6 year old children wrote:

After the project work with puppets, the group of children acted more coherently, the number of interactions increased, and even more importantly, the number of positive interactions increased. In spite of the fact that negative interactions still occurred, the quality of resolving them changed for the better.

Interestingly, the initial measurement in this group of children of the item ‘Often fights with other children and teases them’, which in the total population of children was extremely rare (mean value 4.07), had the lowest arithmetic means (1.94). This means that this behaviour in children in the LCG group was quite common in the initial measurement.

Low medium values in the initial measurement were also observed in the items ‘In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will’ (1.94) and ‘Argues with other children’ (2.08), which were also increased by a statistically significant degree in the second measurement.

The results showed the largest difference in the arithmetic means in the variable for which the means in the initial assessment was the lowest ‘Often fights with other children and teases them’ (initial assessment 1.94, final assessment 2.74). A large difference in the mean values between the initial and final assessment of this population was also observed in the variable ‘Ignores opinions and feelings of other children, if she/he want to obtain something’ (initial assessment 2.16, final assessment 2.90) and ‘In games with other children, wants to assert her/his own will’ (initial assessment 1.94, final assessment 2.68).

In the teacher’s assessment, the largest shift towards less aggressive behaviour is observed in physical aggression and uncompromising assertion of one’s will.

Figures 1 and 2 show the comparison of the results of the initial and final assessments of aggressive behaviour. Figure 1 shows the differences for individual variables of aggressive behaviour for the total assessed population, and Figure 2 shows differences for the 10% of the assessed children (the LSG group) who in the initial assessment received the lowest scores. Both figures show that between the initial and final assessment, there are statistically significant differences in arithmetic means in all variables referring to aggressive behaviour, both in the total population and in the LSG population; however, in the latter, the differences are notably larger according to the teachers’ assessments.

Figure 1.

Comparison of the results of the initial and final assessments of aggressive behaviour in the total assessed population.

Figure 2.

Comparison of the results of the initial and final assessments of aggressive behaviour 10% of the assessed children who in the initial assessment received the lowest scores.

Considering the results obtained, it can be concluded that, by the teachers’ estimates, after the intense three-month daily puppetry activities, the children’s aggressive behaviour significantly decreased. Therefore, the teachers’ assessments reflect a strong decrease in the aggressive behaviour of children in the total assessed population, and even more evidently in the LSG group of children. Children who, by their teachers’ estimates, were ‘at risk’, i.e. faced more problems in social adaptation before the introduction of puppetry activities to the preschool class, after three months of on-going activities, showed an increase in non-aggressive behaviour. As the teacher Aleksandra in the class of children aged 4–6 reported:

Nejc, the puppet - the beloved of the group, helps us carry out diverse activities. Nejc has helped me incredibly; it was much easier to run the activities with him than if I would try to do it on my own. Now and then we do have a small argument, because all the children want to have Nejc for themselves. Particularly boys, which rather surprised me. I am impressed over the power of the puppet, as I did not imagine that it would influence the children so positively. We have a boy in the class who is very impulsive and has difficulties focusing. Only in one week, there has been progress. The boy talks to the puppet and can persist longer in the play that he chooses. He even fell asleep with Nejc, although he was not able to fall sleep in preschool at all for over a month.

The expression of anger through verbal or physical aggression especially diminished, as perceived by their teachers, with the children becoming more sensitive to the feelings of other children in the class, they were better at respecting agreements and broke fewer rules, and conflicts (quarrels, assertion of will) became less frequent.

We can conclude that play with puppets, organised in various ways, helps the child develop social skills. A teacher, who worked with children aged 3–6 reported:

The puppets play an important role in the children’s socialisation, encouraging children, with their very presence, to collaborate and communicate. Through the making of and playing with puppets children had fun, they talked more and accepted each other. This progress was reflected in the different activities of our group. The children started to make agreements amongst each other, being more considerate to each other, whether it was during play, a puppet play or just a walk. Puppets taught children at each step. With their model behaviour towards others they showed the way towards friendship.

This is why the teacher’s knowledge about pedagogical and psychological aspects of the use of the puppet is so important. Puppet play was introduced in the class in several different ways: spontaneous play with the puppet; preparation of scenes with puppets; short, informal scenes as an introduction to, or motivation within, an activity; talking through puppets, making puppets. In various conflict situations, the teacher can join in with the animation of a puppet – the beloved friend of the group.

The children were excited about the developments related to the puppet – the beloved of the group. At the very beginning, they got so fascinated by the story that all of them, down to the last one, participated. /…/ Piki, the Dinosaur connected to the children in a way so that they co-operated better. The Pikosaur was most eagerly adopted by one very lively boy. As soon as he came to the preschool in the morning he put away his own toy, took Piki, and carried it along wherever he went to play. Piki became our permanent company from breakfast to rest time, and until they went home. His influence was particularly noticeable during lunch and rest. (The teacher Lidija, children aged 2–4)

Usually, such a character is typically accepted by children as their confidant and friend. Children can easier tell the puppet than directly to adults their frustrations, wishes and conflicts. The teacher Nina, worked in a group of children, aged 3–5 years:

Also my assistant teacher, who has worked in this position for over 25 years noticed the children’s progress. She told me that so far, no other teachers have regularly used the so called “beloved” of the group, and she was surprised at the puppet’s impact as well as the children’s responses. We are both aware that these are only small steps, but they are shifts in the right direction, with progress being seen in a specific group that occasionally demands so much energy and took away hope that anything would change for the better.

Children feel safer with their puppet friend; it represents the mediator between them and their teacher or peers. The teachers who participated in our study also reported that children themselves used the puppet to comfort a crying child. Puppet play with good follow-up or continuing activities helps develop social skills. Through the puppet, children experience various emotions and relations, and learn about appropriate reactions. To continue a story with a child, working the puppet is a good opportunity to play through alternative possibilities for how individual characters in the story can behave. Puppets present an acceptable way to express one’s unpleasant emotions. Through dramatic plot and relations between the characters, the child’s inner conflicts and frustrations lose their power (Bastašić, 1990).

Our results are very similar to Ivon’s (2005) findings. She researched the connection between different uses of the puppet in education and pro-social or aggressive behaviour. She compared the teachers’ assessments of pro-social and aggressive behaviours of children in the experimental group, where the puppets were often used, with the control group in which teachers almost never used puppets. As in our study, the results showed that in groups in which the puppets were used daily, the teachers noticed an increase in pro-social behaviour and a decrease in aggressive behaviour. These findings can be complemented with the words of the teacher Aleksandra who worked with the group of 4–6 year olds:

I hardly understand this myself, but the puppet really works miracles. I learnt many new things from the children, and got to know them as completely different children, I talked to them and played with them more. I can say that the puppets connected us as a group and as friends, who talk and trust each other, and are nice to each other. What we failed to achieve in previous months, the puppets succeeded in doing in just weeks.

Conclusion

With research into the implementation of puppetry activities according to the principles of creative drama in preschool education, the meaning of puppet play for the development of the child’s social competence was highlighted through theoretical starting points and selected instruments. The results of the study are in line with those of other studies of children of various ages and different countries, and suggest that the regular and continuous inclusion of diverse forms and methods of work with puppets significantly influences the reduction of children’s aggressive behaviour. Here, the key role is played by the teacher, who needs to offer children the puppets and the possibilities to play the improvised scenes at the right moment, which, of course, can grow into more complex stories.

This research is based on the adult’s perception only. We are aware that children’s perception is crucial for education and research, but in this manuscript, we have presented only the results of this study. Of course, in past we gained many children’s opinions connected with the use of puppet (that they enjoyed, what they liked and want to do more, etc.), but children’s answers were not connected with the purpose of this study. We cannot aspect that the children would comment their (non)aggressive behaviour when asked about their feelings and wishes in puppet play.

The teachers estimate that after three months of creative drama with puppets, aggressive behaviours are considerably diminished in the total observed population of children, and even more so in the group of children who showed the lowest scores in the initial assessment. Puppet theatre is symbolic communication that enables direct, less stressful communication and dialogue amongst individuals in the class as well as a good functioning of the class. With the occurrence of aggressive behaviour becoming ever more frequent, and with teachers facing problems in coping with it, along with the knowledge of the effects that can be achieved with the puppet, in regard to reducing aggressive behaviour, there is a strong case for the inclusion of puppetry in daily preschool and school activities. The changes that teachers can achieve with the use of puppets in the social behaviour of individuals and in creating a positive atmosphere in the class are of key importance to present and future preschools and schools.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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