From games to grit:Examining the impact of structured play activities on persistencedevelopment in early childhood settings

Introduction: Persistence is recognized as a foundational skill for success in life, contributing significantly to the formation of a growth mindset in early childhood, enabling preschoolers to overcome obstacles and complete tasks. The current research is justified by an observed deficit in motivation and persistence among current young generations, who often tend to give up at the first obstacle or failure, and by a gap in applied studies within the Romanian context. The study’s primary objective was to investigate how persistence, definedas the ability to maintain effort in the face of difficulties, can be developed in preschoolersthrough an intervention program based on interactive activities and board games. Methods: The research utilized an experimental design involving two groups of large-group preschoolers (aged 4 to 5). The experimental group participated in a nine-week intervention program consisting of 13 structured activities, including seven board games and five different interactive activities. Persistence was evaluated using the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ), tracking five specific subdomains: cognitive persistence, motor persistence, social persistence (with adults and children), and mastery enjoyment. Results demonstrated that the intervention significantly improved total persistence inthe experimental group when compared to both the pretest phase and the control group. Statistically significant increases were observed, particularly in cognitive persistence, motor persistence, and enjoyment of mastering new skills. The post-intervention differences between the experimental and control groups became even more pronounced and statistically significant for all subscales, sustaining the program's effectiveness. However, the study found no statistically significant influence based on gender or the quality of the relationship with the educator on persistence development. Conclusions: These findings validate the effectiveness of game-based methods in early education, suggesting that integrating educational games that require patience, concentration, and task completion is a developmental capacity that supports success later in life. The study underscores the role of parents and teachers in providing adequate support and showing children that constant effort is more valuable than immediate success. Future research should address methodological limitations, such as pre-existing group differences and subjective evaluation, by conducting longitudinal studies and implementing external pretest/posttest evaluation.