Abstract
The aim of the present study was to compare the social and emotional adjustment of preschool children prior and after the implementation of storytelling in a preschool classroom. The sample of the study consisted of 12 preschool children to whom five stories about emotions were narrated during a five week period. Participants’ levels of socio emotional adjustment and school readiness were assessed prior and after the experiment so that differences that could be attributed to the impact of storytelling could be defined.
The results indicated that storytelling impacts positively on participants’ understanding and management of emotions as well as their social skills. By so doing, it increases their school readiness. An important finding of the present study is that this improvement occurs independently of the participants’ level of learning difficulties. Subsequently the level of preschoolers’ school readiness could increase, even in populations with learning difficulties and/or socioeconomic disadvantage.
Furthermore, the findings of the present study assist practitioners and parents to gain a better understanding of the value of storytelling as a didactic approach to increase pupils' emotional and social skills especially in societies facing socioeconomic crisis.