Development of Preschool Children’s Life Skills by Implementing Simulation Activities Watkhlongchan School Pathumthani Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare the life skills of preschool children before and after implementing simulation activities at Watkhlongchan School in Pathumthani Province. The study included a population of 58 boys and girls aged 5 to 6 years, studying in Kindergarten 3 from two classrooms in the first semester of the academic year 2022 at Watkhlongchan school. The sample for the study included 28 preschool children from Kindergarten 3, room 2, selected using cluster random sampling. One classroom was randomly chosen from the two classrooms with similar characteristics. The research utilized several instruments, including 32 simulation activities, lesson plans, and a preschool children's life skills observation form. The observation form assessed four skills: managing money, behaving properly in public places, traveling in vehicles, and reading community signs. The inter-rater reliability of the observation form ranged from 0.67 to 1.00. The research duration was 8 weeks, with activities conducted 4 days a week, and each session lasting 50 minutes. The overall inter-observer correlation (IOC) was measured at 0.92. The statistical analyses applied in this research included the mean, standard deviation, and dependent t-test.

The results of the research indicated that preschool children's life skills improved significantly after implementing simulation activities, compared to their skills prior to the experiment. These findings were statistically significant at the 0.05 level, both overall and in each aspect of the skills assessed.