The Effect of Preschool Peer Bullying Education Program on Children's Perception of Social Situations and Communication Skills

ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to examine the effect of the peer bullying education program given to children between the ages of 60–72 months on their perception of social situations and communication skills. The study group consisted of 26 children in the experimental group and 26 children in the control group. The study group consisted of 52 children aged 60–72 months who were attending preschool classes affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Konya during the 2022–2023 academic year and who were selected using the simple random sampling method. All activities in the ‘Preschool Peer Bullying Education Program’ implemented by the researcher were conducted within the classroom. The program was administered to the children over a period of 12 weeks, with sessions held twice a week, totaling 24 sessions. As a result of the study, in the experimental group, significant differences were found in the post‐test scores compared to the pre‐test scores in the sub‐dimensions of social information processing levels; recognizing facial expressions, encoding social cues, interpreting social cues, diversifying and structuring responses, and response decision and evaluation. According to the children's communication skills scores, it was observed that there was a significant difference in the post‐test scores of the sub‐dimensions of active communication, considering communication values, adhering to communication rules and providing positive feedback in the experimental group compared to the pre‐test scores. In the study, it was determined that the communication skills sub‐dimension scores of the children in the experimental group differed significantly compared to the post‐test scores of the active communication sub‐dimension follow‐up scores. The follow‐up scores for the sub‐dimensions of recognizing facial expressions, interpreting social cues, and diversifying and structuring responses did not significantly differ from the post‐test scores. In the study, the follow‐up scores of the active communication sub‐dimension in the experimental group differed significantly. It was observed that there was no significant difference in the follow‐up scores of the sub‐dimensions of encoding social cues, response decision and evaluation based on the post‐test scores.