Body Shadow Theatre In Physical Education To Promote The Emotional Wellbeing Of Schoolchildren: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

The present study was based on the possibilities offered by body shadow theatre as a resource and content to promote the emotional well-being of girls and boys from an early age. A total of 118 primary school students (60 boys and 58 girls) from a school in south-eastern Spain participated. They assessed the emotional intensity they experienced through the Games and Emotions Scale for Children (GES-C) instrument and explained which emotion they had felt more intensely and why, through drawings and/or comments. The data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 27.0 for Windows and an inductive categorization using NVivo software. The results showed that the expressive motor situations presented through body shadow theatre favored the intense experience of positive emotions (M = 5.02, SD = 1.40) significantly (p = .000) in relation to negative emotions (M = 1.17, SD = 0.47). Boys and girls justified emotional well-being with personal and body shadow theatre aspects. Girls, unlike boys, emphasized social relationships during expressive motor practice. The conclusions showed that the free and creative expressive motor situations presented in body shadow theatre favored emotional well-being in both girls and boys

El presente estudio se basó en conocer las posibilidades que ofrece el teatro de sombras corporales como recurso y contenido para favorecer el bienestar emocional de chicas y chicos desde edades tempranas. Participaron un total 118 estudiantes de educación primaria (60 chicos y 58 chicas) de un centro educativo situado en el sureste de España. Valoraron la intensidad emocional que experimentaron a través del instrumento Games and Emotions Scale for Chil-dren (GES-C) y explicaron qué emoción habían sentido con mayor intensidad y por qué, a través de dibujos y/o comen-tarios. Los datos obtenidos se analizaron mediante el Statis-tical Package for Social Sciences versión 27.0 para Windows y una categorización inductiva utilizando el software NVivo. Los resultados mostraron que las situaciones motrices ex-presivas planteadas a través del teatro de sombras corporal favorecieron la vivencia intensa de emociones positivas (M = 5.02, DT = 1.40) de forma significativa (p = .000) con relación a las emociones negativas (M = 1.17, DT = 0.47). Los chicos y las chicas justificaron el bienestar emocional con aspectos personales y propios del teatro de sombras corporales. Las chicas, a diferencia de los chicos, destacaron las relaciones sociales durante la práctica motriz expresiva. Las conclusio-nes mostraron que las situaciones motrices expresivas libres y creativas planteadas en el teatro de sombras corporal fa-vorece el bienestar emocional tanto en chicas como chicos