| Abstract [eng] |
The master's thesis deals with analysis of the importance of physical games developing social skills of primary school students. Social skills education is an essential tool for ensuring a person's ability to function in society, to adapt to the requirements of society and to manage social situations in a qualitative way. The deficiency of research revealing the influence of physical games on the development of social skills led to the research hypothesis – the application of physical games in social skills classes improves communication, perseverance, self-control and empathy skills. The subject of the research is social skills of pupils in elementary school and the aim of the research is to reveal the importance of physical games for the development of social skills of primary school pupils. Theoretical (analysis of scientific readings, evaluation and generalization) and empirical (written survey method submitting a structured questionnaire consisting of closed questions) methods have been applied for collection of the research data. The classical pedagogical experiment was chosen for the organization of the research, in both experimental and control groups formulating the same educational goals. A descriptive analysis (averages) was used for quantitative data analysis. The Student t and Kruskal-Wallis criteria were applied to determine the statistical differences between groups. 32 primary school students, 32 parents (carers) and 32 primary school teachers participated in the research. The participants in the study were selected using the principles of non-probability sampling: convenient and targeted selection. Within the course of the research it was found that physical games inclusion in the social skills development process of elementary school students has a positive impacts on the development of perseverance, communication, empathy and self-control skills. The examination of quantitative research data clarified that the change in social skills assessment after the experiment are the most notable at pupil and parent evaluations. In the analysis of the importance of physical games in the aspect of gender differences, it has been established that physical games have a positive effect on girls' empathy skills development. The slight effect has been observed of physical games on boys' persistence and self-control skills. Considering that the positive effect of physical games on social skills development is observed in almost all evaluations of respondents, it is recommended to include physical games in the educational process for organizing social skills activities. |
