The impact of physical activity-based freedom of movement on social-emotional development in kindergarten

Introduction: Social-emotional development is a crucial aspect in early childhood education. This study explores the impact of physical activity-based freedom of movement on social-emotional development in kindergarten. Methodology: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used, with two groups: a treatment group (n=65) and a control group (n=66) from four public kindergartens in Yogyakarta. The treatment group participated in a physical activity-based freedom of movement program, while the control group followed a conventional curriculum. Social-emotional development was measured using a validated tool, and data analysis included dependent samples t-tests for within-group comparisons and independent samples t-tests for differences between the groups. Results: Significant improvements were observed in both groups. The dependent samples t-test for the treatment group showed t = 25.482, p = 0.001; for the control group, t = 14.703, p = 0.001. The independent samples t-test for post-assessment revealed t = 6.514, p = 0.001, indicating a significant difference between the treatment and control groups, with the treatment group showing greater improvement. Conclusions: Physical activity-based freedom of movement significantly enhances social-emotional development in young children, making it an effective pedagogical strategy in early childhood education.