Play And Social Skills Development among Primary Six Pupils in Public Primary Schools Of Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria

This study investigated the impact of play on the development of social skills among Primary Six pupils in public primary schools in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four specific objectives and four corresponding research questions, focusing on the relationships between different forms of play—cooperative, imaginative, physical, and solitary—and social skills development. A survey research design was adopted, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Play and Development of Social Skills Questionnaire (PDSSQ). A stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 200 pupils across public primary schools in the study area. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed significant positive relationships between all four types of play and the development of social skills, with physical play showing the highest correlation coefficient (r = .786, p < .05), followed by cooperative play (r = .658), imaginative play (r = .451), and solitary play (r = .339). These results suggest that various forms of play significantly contribute to enhancing pupils’ interpersonal communication, emotional regulation, empathy, and peer relationship skills. The study underscores the importance of integrating structured and unstructured play activities into the school curriculum to foster holistic social development among children. It recommends that educators and policymakers prioritize play-based learning strategies to promote emotional and social competence among primary school pupils.