Drama-in-education in rural Chinese primary schools: effects on self-concept, social connectedness, and psychosocial wellbeing.

Introduction: Self-concept is a central developmental resource supporting children's psychosocial wellbeing, resilience, and school adjustment. In rural and low-resource educational settings, structured and scalable interventions that promote social connectedness and positive self-identity remain limited. Drama-in-Education (DIE), an arts-based group practice grounded in role-taking and collaborative enactment, has shown promise in enhancing socio-emotional competencies; however, evidence for short, high-intensity implementations under real-world school conditions remains scarce. This study evaluated the short-term effects and mechanisms of a structured DIE program on rural primary school children's self-concept. Methods: A quasi-experimental mixed-methods design was employed ( Results: After adjusting for baseline differences, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in total self-concept than the control group ( Discussion: Short, intensive DIE programs may offer a feasible, culturally adaptable, school-based strategy to enhance self-concept and social connectedness in rural contexts. By combining structured role engagement with reflective integration, DIE appears to activate both individual and relational pathways of psychosocial development. Limitations include non-random assignment, single-site implementation, and absence of long-term follow-up. Future research should incorporate randomized designs and longitudinal assessments to evaluate sustainability and scalability.