Background and Purpose: The acquisition of social skills from childhood is essential for constructive interaction with others and optimal social adjustment. One of the effective ways to teach these skills is role-playing method. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of role-playing teaching on self-esteem and adaptation of female elementary school students.
Method: The method of this study was experimental. The statistical population of this study included all 3rd to 5th grade elementary girls from Khalkhal city in the academic year 2016-2017. In the screening stage, based on the required score in self-esteem questionnaire (Cooper Smith, 1967) and adjustment inventory questionnaire (Sinha & Singh, 1993), among 308 students (178), 30 were selected by random cluster sampling method. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (15 subjects in each group).
Results: The results of univariate covariance analysis showed that role-playing method has a significant effect on self-esteem and adjustment of students (p <0.001). The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that education through role play has a significant effect on each components of self-esteem (general, family, educational, and social) and adjustement (emotional, social, and academic) (p <0 / 001).
Conclusion: The role-playing by providing an enjoyable environment for learning, increases self-esteem and adjustment of students, and providing them with the opportunity to use the learned skills in the real-life environments.