Using board games as a protective tool: Effects on cognitive, social, emotional, behavioural outcomes, and learning

Introduction: Board games are increasingly used in school settings as engaging, structured activities that can foster executive functions (EFs) and learning. However, their effects on Social, Emotional, and Behavioural (SEB) skills remain unexplored. Aims: This study aimed to examine the effects of a 10-week teacher-led board game intervention, integrated with metacognitive activities, on EFs, SEB skills, and learning in primary school. Sample: A total of 150 fourth- and fifth-grade students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds participated (83 in the intervention group; 67 in the control group). Participants were assigned to conditions at the class level. Methods: Outcomes were assessed using computerized EFs tasks (TeleFE), teacher reports of classroom behaviour (BRIEF-2), student self-reports (BESSI-45) on SEB skills, and end-of-semester school grades in Italian and mathematics. Results: Generalized Linear Mixed Models revealed: a) no statistically significant effects on computerized EFs tasks; b) significant differences over time between groups in teacher-reported EFs, particularly in behavioural and cognitive regulation, with some effects maintained at follow-up and a decline in the control group; c) a significant improvement in Emotional Resilience, a key SEB skill; d) a protective effect on learning, with stable grades in the intervention group and a decline in the control group. Conclusions: These results suggest that structured, teacher-led board game interventions, when embedded in a metacognitive framework, may help support children's everyday executive functioning and learning, and act as a protective factor against declines in behaviour and academic performance due to developmental or environmental challenges.