The Role of Traditional Games in Developing Children’s Social and Creative Competence in Community-Based Education

Abstract

Digitalization has expanded children’s access to learning resources but reduced opportunities for direct social interaction and culturally grounded play. In community education contexts, traditional games offer a valuable yet underused pathway for supporting children’s social and creative development. However, limited empirical evidence explains their role as policy-relevant tools in structured community-based education systems. This study examines the contribution of traditional games to children’s social competence and creative engagement in Indonesian community learning settings. Using a research and development design with empirical validation, the study involved 150 children across three learning sites. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention assessments, observation, facilitator reflection, and participant feedback, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, correlation analysis, effect sizes, and thematic analysis. Findings show that structured traditional game activities improved communication, cooperation, problem-solving, initiative, and adaptive participation. Qualitative results indicate enhanced collaboration, role negotiation, cultural engagement, and creative exploration. The study positions traditional games as sociocultural learning mechanisms and provides policy-relevant evidence for integrating them into community education programs.