The Effectiveness of Storytelling Methods on Increasing Early Childhood Empathy in RA Alquran Dina Padang Sidempuan

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of storytelling methods in increasing early childhood empathy in RA Al-Qur'an Dina Padang Sidempuan. The research approach uses a quantitative method with a quasi experiment design of the pretest-posttest control group design. The research subjects amounted to 30 children aged 5–6 years who were divided into two groups, namely the experimental group that was given the storytelling method treatment and the control group that followed conventional learning. Data were collected through an early childhood empathy observation scale and analyzed using the ANCOVA test with a pretest score as a covariate. The results showed that there was a significant difference in empathy skills between the two groups (p < 0.05), with the contribution of the storytelling method of 68.2% to the improvement of children's empathy. The average gain score in the experimental group was higher (15.20) than in the control group (5.07). These findings show that the storytelling method is effective as a learning strategy that is able to stimulate social-emotional development, especially empathy, through the process of identifying and imitating the prosocial behavior of the story characters. This study recommends the application of storytelling as an educational approach in strengthening the character of early childhood in early childhood institutions.