The Effectiveness of Debate Theater on Resilience and Interactive Self-Efficacy of Elementary School Students

Abstract

Background and Objective: Low levels of resilience and self-efficacy in children are associated with several psychological problems. As an art-based intervention, argumentative theater has potential to improve psychological components; however, its effect on children's resilience and interactive self-efficacy has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of argumentative theater on resilience and interactive self-efficacy in elementary school students.
Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group, 36 fourth-grade male students in Babol were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental (n=18) and control (n=18) groups. The instruments included the Social-Emotional Competence and Resilience Questionnaire (Merrell et al., 2011) and the Peer Interaction Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Wheeler and Ladd, 1982). The experimental group participated in six 90-minute sessions of the argumentative theater workshop. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in resilience (P<0.01; η²=0.734) and interactional self-efficacy (P<0.01; η²=0.439). The largest effect size was related to social competence (η²=0.601) and empathy (η²=0.231).
Conclusion: Debate theater is an effective method for improving resilience and interactional self-efficacy of elementary school male students and can be used as an art-based intervention in the school environment.