Renkli Adımlar Game- and Drama-Based Program for Preventing Peer Bullying in Primary School Children

Peer bullying is a major public health problem that negatively affects children'spsychological, social, and educational development. School‐based interventions thatpromote empathy and positive peer relationships may help prevent bullying during theprimary school years. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the RenkliAdımlar (Colorful Steps) program, a game‐ and drama‐based school intervention developedto improve empathy and reduce bullying perpetration and victimization among primaryschool children.A randomized controlled pretest‐posttest study was conducted in public primary schools inBurdur, Türkiye. Two schools were selected and allocated to intervention and controlgroups. The intervention group participated in the Renkli Adımlar program, whichconsisted of eight weekly 40‐minute sessions incorporating educational games, creativedrama, role‐playing, storytelling, puppet activities, collaborative learning, andclassroom discussions. The control group continued routine school activities during thestudy period. Empathy was assessed using the Index of Empathy for Children andAdolescents (IECA), and bullying perpetration and victimization were measured using thePeer Bullying Identification Scale‐Child Form (PBIS‐CF). Outcomes were evaluated beforeand immediately after completion of the intervention.