Abstract
Abstract
Board games may serve as a low-cost educational tool for fostering social and emotional skills as they necessarily elicit screen-free, face-to-face interaction. However, evidence of their effectiveness has been concentrated in structured, high-dose programs. The format most readily implemented in schools, a minimal intervention in which children simply play, remains underexamined. We conducted a quasi-experiment with a waitlist-control design in four fifth-grade classes at two public elementary schools in Japan (
N
= 109 at T1). The intervention comprised three weekly 45-min board game lessons delivered by teachers, with no lectures or reflections. Social and emotional skills (Cooperation, Open-mindedness, Active expression, Persistence, and Emotional regulation) were measured using anonymous questionnaires at three time points. The primary analysis showed no significant group × time interaction for any outcome. Furthermore, the difference-in-differences estimates were consistently near zero (standardized |
d
| ≤ 0.07). This null result held across different treatments of missing data and in both schools; scores in both groups rose gradually over the semester regardless of the intervention. We considered these findings in relation to ceiling effects, the self-report measurement channel, and the Japanese classroom context in which collaboration is institutionalized. Overall, the intervention in which children simply played provided no evidence of short-term improvement in self-reported social and emotional skills. Future research should examine the conditions under which the educational potential of board games emerges, including intervention structure and dose, target population, and measurement approach.