The Effect of Montessori Method Supported by Social Skills Training Program on Turkish Kindergarten Children’s Skills of Understanding Feelings and Social Problem Solving

Abstract

The current research was conducted with the purpose of analyzing the effect of Montessori method supported by Social Skills Training Program on kindergarten children’s skills of understanding feelings and social problem solving. 53 children attending İhsan Doğramacı Applied Nursery School affiliated to Selcuk University, Faculty of Health Sciences in Konya during 2013-2014 school year were included in the study group. Wally Feelings Test and Wally Social Problem Solving Test were used as data collection tools. The tests were applied to the children as pre and post-test. In addition, the tests were applied to the experimental group again six weeks after the end of the educational program. Kruskal Wallis H test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were used for the analysis of the data. When findings were analyzed comparing post-test scores of Wally Feelings Test and Wally Social Problem Solving Test of experimental and control groups 1 and 2, it was found that there was a significant difference in favour of the experimental group. When comparing the post and follow-up test scores of Wally Feelings Test and Wally Social Problem Solving Test of the experimental group, it was seen that there was no significant difference. In conclusion, the study results showed that Montessori method supported by Social Skills Training Program supports the development of children’s skills of understanding feelings and social problem solving.