A SOCIOMETRIC STUDY OF PLAY PREFERENCE AND PLAY BEHAVIOR IN A GROUP OF THIRD GRADE CHILDREN
Keywords:
CHILDRENAbstract
Sociometrists (3, 4, 6, 10, 17, 19, 20, and 24) have suggested that a number of distinct factors operate in the peer group that directly affect the child's mental health, social development and academic growth. By using the sociometric test initially devised by Moreno (D) the teacher can discover "the feelings which individuals have in regard to one another in. respect to membership in the groups which they are at a given moment. It is an action test" (B, p. 439) and therefore can appropriately be administered in a play situation. Consequently, the play situation may serve as a diagnostic tool, and in some cases be employed as a therapeutic devise as the observer notes interactions transpiring during a physical activity. The results of sociometric tests should facilitate these observations and assist the teacher in understanding the unique group configurations into which a complete class organizes itself.
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