Enhancing social skills through culturally grounded E-San folk play: a quasi-experimental study in primary school Physical Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v78.118515Keywords:
traditional games, social skills, cooperative learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, Physical EducationAbstract
Introduction: Culturally grounded folk play has been recognized as a meaningful approach within physical education; however, empirical evidence examining region-specific interventions implemented in formal school settings remains limited.
Objective: This study examined the effects of a structured E-San folk play program on social skill development among primary school students in a physical education context.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was employed with 50 students aged 10–12 years from a public primary school in northeastern Thailand. Participants were assigned to either an experimental group that engaged in an eight-week culturally grounded folk play intervention or a control group that followed routine physical education instruction. Social skills were assessed using a validated self-report questionnaire measuring social interaction, social communication, and cooperation. Data were analyzed using t-tests and effect size estimates.
Results: eight-week intervention indicated that students in the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvements across all social skill domains compared with the control group.
Beyond demonstrating effectiveness, the findings provide theoretical insight into how culturally embedded, cooperative play functions as a pedagogical mechanism for social skill development.
Discussion/Conclusions: suggest that social competence is fostered not merely through physical activity, but through culturally meaningful, rule-based interactions that require coordination and shared goal pursuit. Overall, the study contributes to the literature on culturally responsive physical education by highlighting the value of region-specific folk play in promoting social competence in childhood.
References
Afridawati, A., Purnamasari, A. D., Widanita, N., Suherman, A., Kusmaedi, N., Ma’mun, A., & Usra, M. (2025). Improving personal and social skills through physical education learning based on PYD-TS model YES-S for students in inclusive schools. Retos, 68, 2091–2101. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v68.116871.
Dasmadi, M. A. J. K., Fatmawati, E., Ari, S., & Irawan, E. V. (2023). Development of social competence through play activities: Lost in the digital age. International Journal of Futures Studies, 6(1), 304–317. https://doi.org/10.54783/endlessjournal.v6i1.145.
Farahani, N. K. E., & Mirsafi, M. S. A. H. (2024). The relationship between traditional games and social development in children. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 50(7), 700–718. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2024/v50i71499.
García Flores, S. I., Villamares Trujillo, M. E., Emperatriz Gaytan-Reyna, S., & Silva Mercado, Y. Y. (2026). Traditional games: A powerful tool to strengthen social skills in early childhood. Revista InveCom, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17066579.
Garner, D., de Carvalho, J., & Spears, B. (2025). Emotional intelligence and academic performance among college students: A quantitative analysis. Journal of Education and Human Development, 14, 87-103. https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v14p8.
Hromek, R., & Roffey, S. (2009). Promoting social and emotional learning with games: “It’s fun and we learn things”. Simulation & Gaming, 40(5), 626–644. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878109333793.
Irmansyah, J., Lumintuarso, R., Sugiyanto, F. X., & Sukoco, P. (2020). Children’s social skills through traditional sport games in primary schools. Cakrawala Pendidikan, 39(1), 39–53. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v39i1.28210.
Julianti, R. R., Suherman, A., Ma’mun, A., Budiana, D., Sari, E. F. N., Ridwan, M., & Festiawan, R. (2024). Implementation of intentionally structured psychosocial through folk games and traditional sports in elementary school students. Retos, 60, 810–815. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v60.108208.
Lynch, T. (2019). Physical education and wellbeing. Springer.Mao, F., Huang, F., Zhao, S., & Fang, Q. (2024). Effects of cognitively engaging physical activity interventions on executive function in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1454447. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1454447.
Ospankulov, Y., Zhumabayeva, A., & Nurgaliyeva, S. (2023). The impact of folk games on primary school students. Journal of Education and E-Learning Research, 10(2), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.20448/jeelr.v10i2.4473.
Parapim, J., Pongnoo, R., & Homsombat, T. (2025). The effect of using physical education activities through traditional Thai games on the social skills of primary school students. Journal of Buddhist Education and Research, 11(1), 400–415. https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jber/article/view/282368.
Samakphol, S., Pummuang, S., Chindapuk, T., Sukdee, N., & Tongterm, T. (2026). Efficacy of a culturally contextualized recreation program using northeastern Thai folk plays on executive functions in primary school students. Retos, 74, 980–992. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v74.118088.
Sinthukhum, C., & Thumsiriwat, J. (2022). Organizing Thai play activities to develop social skills of early childhood young children. Kalasin University Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Innovation, 1(1), 97–105. https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/hsi_01/article/view/252044.
Sunanto, S., Tuasikal, A. R. S., Indahwati, N., Suryanti, S., Himawan, A., & Purwoto, S. P. (2024). Models of traditional games in physical education and sports: Its effect on increasing the motor development of elementary school students. Retos, 61, 722–727. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v61.107121.
Syamsuddin, I. F., Hidayat, Y., & Carsiwan, C. (2024). Effectiveness of traditional sports games in social skills development. Jurnal Pendidikan Jasmani Dan Olahraga, 9(1), 75–81. https://doi.org/10.17509/jpjo.v9i1.68226.
Van Pham, S. (2024). The influence of social and emotional learning on academic performance, emotional well-being, and implementation strategies: A literature review. Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 9(12), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2024.v09i12.001.
Xu, Y., Qi, K., Białas, M., Xu, Q., Guo, X., & Chen, A. (2025). Time-course effects of cognitively engaging physical activity on executive function and self-control in younger school-aged children: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1628814. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1628814.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ploenjit Panyawong, Surapon Ruksasub, Thanakorn Panyawong, Nirut Nirut
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
