The effect of Freinet Pedagogical techniques on the Social Skills of children aged 10-12 years

The purpose of this research was to investigate the employment of the Freinet Pedagogical Method tools in the development of the students’ Social Skills in the last two years of Primary School in the subject of Physical Education. The research involved primary school students (N = 223, 118 boys and 105 girls), aged 10, 11, 12 years. The students were randomly divided into two groups: the Experimental group which participated in a 4-month intervention program with the Freinet Pedagogical Method (n = 103), and the control group (n = 120) which followed the program of the Physical Education textbooks according to the ranks of the Ministry of Education. The MESSY questionnaire was used to assess students" social skills. Co-variance analysis (ANCOVA) showed that the students in the experimental group at the ages of 10, 11 and 12 years after the intervention program reduced the "hostile and adaptable behaviors" while increasing the "appropriate behaviors”, while the students in the control group did not show any improvement.