Examining the Effects of Problem‐solving Training on the Acquisition of Interpersonal Problem‐solving Skills by 5‐Year‐old Children in Turkey

This study was designed and carried out to examine the effect of problem‐solving training on the acquisition of interpersonal problem‐solving skills by 5 year‐old children. The subjects consisted of 74 5 year‐olds (34 girls and 40 boys) attending a kindergarten in Ankara, Turkey. Of these children 38 were assigned to the experimental group and 36 to the control group. The procedure consisted of pre‐testing, training and post‐testing activities. The training phase involved a programme of activities that required working with children for a certain period of time every day for 14 weeks. In the statistical analysis of the data collected ‘Chi‐Square (x²) test for significance’ was used for the evaluation of the differences between the experimental and control groups. The results were also evaluated on the basis of ‘the significance test for the difference between two means’. This was used to study the relationship between variables. The results showed that problem‐solving training was effective in helping 5 year‐old kindergarten children acquire interpersonal problem‐solving skills.