The Impact of Using a Play-Based Program to Develop Leadership Skills among Gifted Kindergarten Children in Kuwait

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify the effectiveness of a play-based training program, and to measure its impact on the development of the leadership skills among gifted kindergarten children in Kuwait. The quasi-experimental approach was used. The research sample consisted of (30) children, who were divided into two groups: the first was the experimental group which included 15 children and on whom the training program was applied. The other group was the control group, which also included 15 children, and who were taught regular school curriculum. Thus, using a list of behavioral characteristics of children, gifted children were discovered. After assigning the degree of validity and reliability of the program on the Kuwaiti environment, it was applied over a period of (7) weeks, and the kindergarten child’s leadership skill scale, prepared by the researchers, was used to measure the impact of the program. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups (experimental and control) in acquiring leadership skills attributed to the play-based program in favor of the experimental group. The results also showed statistically significant differences between the two measures (pre and post measures) of the experimental group in acquiring leadership skills, in favor of post measures in all dimensions of the scale (initiative, self-confidence, social communication). There were no statistically significant differences between male and female kindergarten gifted children in the experimental group in acquiring leadership skills. This indicates the positive impact of a play-based program to develop leadership skills among gifted children in kindergarten. Keywords: training program, playing, leadership skills, gifted children, kindergarten.