Promoting an Entrepreneurial Culture: Development, Feasibility and Acceptability of a Primary School-Based Program Focused on Soft Skills

Abstract

This study aims to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention program designed to foster soft skills among primary-school students. Conducted in Portugal, the program employed face-to-face sessions and involved 2958 fourth-grade students from nine municipalities. The program “Players of Dreams” (PD) [“Brincadores de Sonhos”] is an active learning approach that encourages students and other educational community members to engage actively in the learning process. The PD content was derived from a literature review and interviews with primary school teachers regarding the essential skills for success in life, like the considerable skills of an entrepreneurial culture. The PD program utilized group dynamics, pedagogical narratives/storytelling, visual thinking strategies (diagrams and illustrations), family involvement in activities, and specially prepared songs to facilitate learning. Teachers who implemented the program underwent 25 h of classroom training on entrepreneurial pedagogy and received a manual for conducting PD sessions. Students completed activities in their PD manuals and corresponding evaluation forms throughout the program The results provide preliminary evidence to support the benefits of implementing the intervention. The facilitators observed changes in student behavior related to the promotion of confidence, responsibility, sociability, and autonomy. The PD program shows promise for engaging young students and fostering the growth of an entrepreneurial culture. Future research could assess the effectiveness of PD in delivering education and support interventions, while longitudinal studies could provide valuable quantitative and qualitative data to inform educational policies for primary schools.

1. Introduction

Soft skills among young people are fundamental to success in the 21st century [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The challenges of the market and life quality requirements, in addition to the technical or hard skills and personal and social skills (or soft skills) required to develop professionally, have a safe place in the complexity and unpredictability of today [5]. Many models of soft skills have been developed, and some integrate entrepreneurial competencies as essential to success [7,8,9]. Among the soft skills, we highlight those that constitute the basis of an entrepreneurial culture, such as the recognition of one’s own talents, the search for personal fulfillment, the capacity for empathy and assertiveness, teamwork and leadership, creativity, and resilience [10]. However, these skills come to shape the behavior of individuals as they are trained from an early age (hence the importance of them being integrated into primary school curricula). However, there is no program whose objective is to develop entrepreneurial attitudes at this school level, and thus there is a need to develop and validate entrepreneurial pedagogy and duly substantiated programs with appropriate pedagogical strategies for acquiring these skills [11,12,13,14,15].

There is a growing interest in developing programs for primary education. This is justified by entrepreneurship education based on experiences during childhood and adolescence [16,17]. However, in Portuguese reality, no integrated proposal includes education programs for entrepreneurship within preschool to secondary education. The difference between Playing Dreams and other programs is that it is part of a global project monitoring the development of entrepreneurial skills of students from 4 and 5 to 18 years old [3].

Since the end of the last century, education for young children’s entrepreneurship has been increasing, and a document reported what is taking place in this context in primary schools across the European Union [18]. In Austria, the program “Empowering Each Child” aims to make young people aware of the need to understand sustainability worldwide, according to a social entrepreneurship approach [16]. In Spain, Barba-Sánchez and Atienza-Sahuquillo [19] describe the work among primary school pupils to encourage entrepreneurship and creativity through the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills for running a business. In the Netherlands, Rigg and Wal-Maris [20] conducted a pilot study with student teachers learning about social entrepreneurship education. A Spanish study argues for the integration of competencies in the curriculum of primary school [21]. Also, in Poland, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Malta, entrepreneurship education is activated as a way of creating an environment favorable to the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe, with the emphasis on good practices at the primary school level, secondary school level, postsecondary level, and tertiary level, as well as within adult education [22]. Also, in Hungry, young people are supported sustainably by the Ukids thematic projects [12].

An Australian questionnaire is to assess communication problems in primary schools called “Organisational Communication in Primary Schools Questionnaire” (OCPSQ) [23]. Also, in Uganda, soft skills were integrated into the curriculum, which teachers in initial training discussed. In Brazil, Dolabela [24] developed entrepreneurial pedagogy with students at primary school age. For example, in Mexico, “My first enterprise: Entrepreneurship by playing” [25], is a program for children. Also, in Argentina, “La Fabrica de los Sueños” [26] aims to encourage students to dream and plan their futures. In Canada, this subject was studied by Pepin P [27,28] and Filion [29,30].

Non-cognitive skills and factors in educational achievement [31] and global citizenship education [32] have been explored. For entrepreneurship education to take place, teacher training is required. In this sense, one longitudinal study confirms that international entrepreneurship education is required for pre-service teachers [33].

The effectiveness of early entrepreneurship education was analyzed [34] through a randomized field experiment about a program applied worldwide in the final grade of primary school; it explored entrepreneurship knowledge and skills relevant to entrepreneurial activity. The results obtained point to the fact that the program did not increase the degree of knowledge about entrepreneurship. However, it has a robust positive effect on the development of soft skills related to entrepreneurial attitude. Therefore, the study suggests that these skills are better developed at this early stage of human development.

For some young people, school is a privileged space for the development of soft skills and the basis of entrepreneurial culture. If these skills are not acquired at this time, it will be much more difficult to carry out innovative projects later. Current evidence indicates that there are significant gains in the development of this culture. Innovative strategies to deliver entrepreneurial programs would greatly aid education professionals in fulfilling this responsibility [12,28,35]. Despite the difficulties for teachers in terms of being more proactive in introducing this innovative mindset to their students, it appears that when supported scientifically and pedagogically, they can propel educational groups and communities towards the development of innovative projects and activities, thus cultivating the notion of “being an entrepreneur later”. This study aimed to (i) describe the development of the program “Players of Dreams” (PD) [1,2] as a pedagogical approach to promoting an entrepreneurial culture; and (ii) assess the reliability and acceptability of this intervention approach using the feedback of key informants who followed the intervention.

2. Method

2.1. Recruitment and Participants

Convenience sampling was used to select the participants from schools in nine counties/municipalities in the Portuguese territory (i.e., “Câmara de Lobos”, “Cantanhede”, “Funchal”, “Gouveia”, “Lousada”, “Machico”, “Matosinhos”, “Santa Maria da Feira” and “Santana”). The selection of these schools was proposed by the counties that agreed to participate in the study and was based on knowledge of their characteristics and the teaching resources available to accompany the intervention. All schools use the same textbooks. The total sample included 2958 students in the fourth grade (primary school) and 179 primary school teachers who were trained in the application of the program (see

Table 1. Number of participants involved in the program by county.

County/Municipality	Teachers	Students
“Câmara de Lobos”	54	1058
“Cantanhede”	4	92
“Funchal”	27	493
“Gouveia”	17	243
“Lousada”	12	160
“Machico”	31	333
“Matosinhos”	19	181
“Santa Maria da Feira”	6	103
“Santana”	3	10

). Among the students who participated in the program, 51% were female, and the average age was 8/9 years old. Regarding the teachers, 97% were female; most had a master’s degree (92%) and taught the third and fourth grades (85%).

2.2. Intervention Program

The “Players of Dreams” (PD) program was developed as an educative approach focusing on primary-school soft skills to encourage an entrepreneurial culture. Six main steps were considered for the development of the intervention: (i) defining and understanding the soft skills to be worked on through literature research and discussion with experts; (ii) identifying weaknesses in promoting these skills in the primary school context using different educational agents; (iii) identifying strategies to bring about change; (iv) identifying how to “implement/deliver” this change mechanism; (v) testing the proposed intervention on a small scale; and (vi) collecting evidence of the acceptability of the program on a larger scale (Wight et al., 2016). Based on this process, a structured program was proposed in 12 sessions (each session lasting 60–90 min) that included dynamics promoting the development of three sets of competencies to be advanced [36,37]: personal skills (self-knowledge, self-esteem, and self-realization), social skills (empathy, assertiveness, and social support), and professional skills (creativity, cooperation, and leadership), as well as the competence of resilience. The facilitators of the program were the teachers, who engaged in training sessions for its implementation. However, whenever possible, besides the teacher, another facilitator with specific knowledge and training (e.g., knowledge about entrepreneurship, particular knowledge about the skills addressed, and experience in the application of the dynamics) was present.

The program’s teacher facilitators participated in 25 h of classroom training on entrepreneurial pedagogy and how to streamline the program sessions with a manual to support PD [2]. The training was delivered by the research team using active simulation methodologies. In this training, the skills of PD were discussed, and the dynamics proposed for each of the sessions were experimented with. The ten competencies developed are duly explored in the book “10 Competencies for Happiness: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurial People, Teams, and Organizations” [32]. However, they are complementary approaches since this roadmap was developed during the teacher training about the entrepreneurial pedagogy of activities, educational stories, illustrations, tools, and strategies for each of the skills, as well as the concepts, examples, benefits, and challenges of the skills under analysis. Briefly, they were prepared to achieve the program’s objectives and implement the activities of each session according to the proposed sequence.

Table 2. Content of the program.

Session	Main/Core Skills	Objectives	Activities
1	The Magic Gate—Presentation of participants and program	To introduce children to Castle of Dreams through the Magic Gate, pointing to developing an entrepreneurial culture.	Creating a space to place the work carried out
2	The Castle of Dreams—Self-knowledge—The awareness of individual potential	To identify the dream that each of the participants would like to see fulfilled.	Building a flag with everyone’s dream
3	The Mirror Room—Self-esteem—The positive feeling of self	To identify, reflect, and value personal talents.	Creating a personal introduction card
4	The Terrace of Happiness—Self-realization—The realization of projects	To discover the joy of achieving a goal.	Stating the meaning of the word happiness
5	The Toy Factory—Empathy—The active perception of the other’s feelings	To improve the ability to listen when someone speaks.	Making a gift to give
6	The Emotions Workshop—Assertiveness—Self-affirmation in interpersonal relationships	To identify situations in which you need to express emotions.	Emotions box dynamics
7	The Friendship Ladder—Social support—Supporting those who need help	To recognize strategies to support and be supported.	Dynamics of the friendship network
8	The Piggy Bank of Savings—Creativity—The art of being an entrepreneur	To become aware of the relevance of financial literacy in today’s world.	Dynamics on how to be creative and save
9	The Sharing Table—Cooperation—Productive collaboration	To develop awareness that teamwork is very productive.	Dynamic chain favors
10	The Lighthouse—Leadership—The positive influence	To understand the importance of knowing how to lead and be conducted.	Leadership game
11	The Cave—Resilience—Strengthening through crises	To realize that overcoming difficulties strengthens the person.	Rope game
12	The Window of Action—Program completion	To define an entrepreneurial activity or project to be created, led, and evaluated.	Building an entrepreneurial project

presents the objectives and dynamics included in the program. In the first moment of each session, children and young people were invited to imagine themselves in the castle of dreams and take a journey through several of its spaces. Metaphorically, each of these spaces represents the content of each of the entrepreneurial competencies to be worked on in the castle of dreams (self-knowledge); the hall of mirrors (self-esteem); the terrace of happiness (self-realization); the toy factory (empathy); the workshop of emotions (assertiveness); the ladder of friendship (social support); the piggy bank of savings (creativity); the sharing table (cooperation); the lighthouse (leadership); and the basement (resilience). In a second moment, the entrepreneurial competence of the session was presented to the group. Starting from the illustration that serves as its basis, the teacher or trainer questions the children or young people about what they believe they know about that concept, encouraging dialogue including daily life questions and the experiences of the participants themselves. Then, to deepen what was previously presented, a story is told, the plot of which develops from the entrepreneurial competence of the session. In the end, the teacher or trainer promotes dialogue among the participants by posing several questions that help them to reflect on the story’s content. In a subsequent moment, a dynamic is established with the group in which the children or young people can realize that it is possible to experience the meaning of entrepreneurial competence. These dynamics were as diverse as possible, in their form (individual, small groups, large groups) and in their execution (games, drawings/records, dramatizations, among others). Subsequently, to systematize and synthesize the content covered in the session, there was a moment when the participants were asked to review the aspects worked on based on a scheme. At the end of the session, the teacher or trainer concluded the various moments mentioned above and proposed an activity to be developed by the participants at home.

The PD method is active since it assumes that students and other educational community members actively participate in the learning process.

2.3. Feasibility of the Program

The feasibility of the program was determined by considering two indicators: (i) recording student participation in each session; (ii) using a report prepared by the facilitator (teacher) to evaluate the experience of implementing the program (e.g., ease of implementation and whether it met expectations) (cf. Appendix A).

2.4. Acceptability of the Program

Acceptability is a construct that reflects the extent to which a given intervention program is appropriate for the target population and meets their needs. Qualitative techniques have been used as an effective alternative for gathering information about the acceptability of behavioral and social interventions [36]. In this study, the acceptability of the program was assessed using semi-structured interviews with key informants (e.g., school cluster principal and teachers monitoring the development of the program), as well as through the analysis of logbooks and reports prepared by the teachers who acted as facilitators of the sessions. All these elements were collected after the end of the intervention.

2.5. Data Analysis

Descriptive analysis was performed to estimate participants’ quantitative responses on feasibility (e.g., participants’ attendance). In turn, qualitative information was explored using an inductive thematic analysis to interpret and describe the data. The transcripts of the interviews and the information contained in the logbooks and facilitators’ reports were analyzed and coded by two independent researchers with experience in qualitative analysis using ATLAS.ti (version 22). The steps proposed by Braun and Clarke [37] for conducting a thematic analysis were followed, namely: (i) familiarization with the data, (ii) formulation of initial codes; (iii) theme search; (iv) theme review; and (v) defining and naming themes. When needed, themes and subthemes were discussed with a third researcher.

3. Results

3.1. Feasibility

Based on the facilitators’ records, it was possible to verify that overall, most students participated in the 12 sessions of the program (84%), since it was included in the teaching dynamics. The counties of Machico and Santa Maria da Feira had the highest participation rate in the sessions since all students attended all 12 sessions. Among the main reasons for occasional absences were aspects related to health conditions and/or other family commitments. All teachers reported in their reports that their expectations, as well as those of their students, were being met throughout the dynamics proposed for the sessions. All the planned activities were carried out.

3.2. Acceptability

The information gathered through key informant interviews, logbooks, and reports prepared by teachers allowed us to identify the acceptability of the PG intervention. Initially, 12 codes were generated that were grouped into subthemes based on similarities in the identified material using ATLAS.ti. Subsequently, the subthemes were grouped into three broader themes that reflected participants’ experiences, namely: (i) perceived benefits of program participation in promoting soft skills (n = 41); (ii) facilitators and barriers to implementation (n = 33); and (iii) opportunities for improvement in future interventions (n = 17).

3.3. Benefits of Program Participation in Promoting Soft Skills

Regarding the perceived benefits, through the perceptions of the teachers who followed the intervention, it was possible to identify an improvement in terms of core competencies for the entrepreneurial profile. On an individual level, the role of the program was recurrently highlighted in terms of personal skills such as self-confidence and self-knowledge. The dynamic of stimulating the students to build and share their dreams encouraged reflection on the setting of objectives and goals and the valuing of individual skills: “(…)the sparkle in their eyes when they shared the dreams they would like to see come true, when they reflected on and valued personal talents, and when they discovered the joy of accomplishing a goal.” [teacher, third grade]; “They have empowered themselves to achieve what they want by developing a better vision and awareness of their future.” [teacher, third grade]. It was also suggested that the program contributes to the promotion of autonomy and problem-solving strategies in the face of the challenges posed throughout PD. In terms of promoting social and professional skills, several positive aspects of the program were also highlighted.

With respect to the promotion of social skills, the potential of the program in introducing collaborative and cooperative dynamics was highlighted. These approaches strengthened peer relationships by improving assertive communication, respect, and empathy: “(…)I highlight the team spirit and unity generated in the class, as they showed to be a cohesive group, united and always ready to help each other; respect for each other’s work rhythm and capacity.” [teacher, fourth grade]. The constant sharing of emotions and affections stimulated by the intervention seemed to have a significant impact on relationship cohesion and social support. Teachers also reported that these positive effects remained beyond the classroom context, contributing to the improvement of the school environment: “(…) better collaboration among peers and better personal relationships between students, family and teachers.” [teacher, fourth grade].

According to the perceptions obtained, creativity and resilience—essential skills in the context of entrepreneurship—were also stimulated. Students were able to envision their life in the future, build entrepreneurial projects, and simultaneously identify possible limitations to their realization through critical and resilient analysis. At the same time, they were acquiring knowledge related to specific terminology in the context of entrepreneurship and getting to know the values underlying an entrepreneurial culture: “They were thus able to contact with a culture, favourable to the acquisition of knowledge and the development of attitudes, skills and values promoting the entrepreneurial spirit…” [teacher, fourth grade]; “(…) they got to know new words, awakened to an entrepreneurial culture.” [teacher, third and fourth grade].

Ultimately, it was also common that the different educational agents involved gained a perception of the benefit of the program in academic performance due to the transversality of the competencies worked: “(…) optimized skills that will be reflected in the improvement of their school performance.” [teacher, fourth grade]. PD was thus understood by the academic community as an opportunity for “each and every one to reflect by learning to be and act in society.” [teacher, fourth grade], with a positive impact also on the teachers monitoring the process. “(…) an “unforgettable journey”, where each of us, students and teachers, was challenged to discover our abilities, learning to like ourselves and believe in making our dreams come true.” [teacher, fourth grade]; “(…) with this project I had the opportunity to learn about different strategies and methodologies in the promotion and development of an entrepreneurial culture.” [teacher, third and fourth grade].

3.4. Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation

Among the main facilitators of the implementation of the program, the teachers involved highlighted aspects related to the structure of the sessions and the proposed teamwork, sharing, and reflection dynamics that motivated continued participation: “The reflection sessions, in this working group, were highly energetic, colorful, lively and incredibly rewarding experiences, as the exchange of experiences allowed the development of other visions.” [teacher, third grade]. The fact that the program was running simultaneously in several schools across the country also seemed to facilitate the involvement and performance of the teacher facilitators, since the creation of a community for the clarification of doubts and exchange of ideas throughout the sessions was enhanced: “(…) it was facilitated by the exchange of experiences with other colleagues and trainer, also by the contact with different realities and learning.” [teacher, fourth grade]. Regarding barriers, the program facilitators frequently reported difficulties in managing the time allotted to the sessions. Most teachers mentioned the need for longer sessions to deepen some of the skills worked on. However, we recognize the impact that a longer program would have on the management of competing academic activities, which did not always facilitate implementation. Aspects such as the need to start the program at the beginning of the school year were also mentioned.

3.5. Opportunities for Improvement in Future Interventions

Among the suggestions proposed by the stakeholders in the academic context, the need to include parents more in the process for more effective monitoring beyond the school context stands out. It was also suggested that these dynamics should start in the pre-school context and be continued throughout the academic career: “(…) this project would make even more sense if it started in pre-school and continued at least until the fourth year. The dynamization of it in a single school year is limited to develop all the expected skills.” [teacher, fourth grade]. The need to further enhance the exchange between schools, in the realization of the project activities was also highlighted, contributing even more to proportionate the socialization between peers from different contexts: “It would be very interesting the exchange between schools, at the level of project activities, similar to the meetings of teachers, with the purpose of providing learning for socialization and promoting the contents of this project more broadly.” [teacher, third grade].

4. Discussion and Conclusions

The findings from the present study suggested the potential positive effect of the “Players of Dreams” (PD) program in promoting soft skills among fourth-grade primary-school students. These findings support the existing literature on the importance of incorporating soft skills development into primary education to foster future success in personal, social, and professional domains [3,5,38,39]. The results reveal that PD has potential benefits in enhancing self-confidence, self-knowledge, autonomy, problem-solving, communication, respect, empathy, creativity, and resilience, which are crucial in shaping an entrepreneurial mindset [40,41].

Furthermore, consistent with previous research, the findings suggest that interventions fostering soft skills development can positively impact students’ academic performance and social relationships [7,42]. This study highlights the significance of teacher training and support in implementing such programs, as teachers who actively participated in the PD training reported improved classroom dynamics and personal growth.

Despite the promising results, the study also identified some barriers to implementing the PD program, such as time constraints and difficulties managing competing academic activities. These challenges are common in educational interventions and can be addressed by better integrating the program into the curriculum, extending the duration of the sessions, and starting the intervention earlier in the school year [43].

Moreover, the study’s findings suggest that involving parents and promoting collaboration between schools could enhance the effectiveness of future interventions. Parental involvement is widely recognized as a critical factor in students’ academic success [44,45,46], and collaboration can offer opportunities for sharing best practices, resources, and experiences.

The evaluation of PD highlights the importance of providing high-quality information about entrepreneurship education to young people using scientifically based methods, effective pedagogical strategies, and a focus on socio-educational impact. PD has proven successful in fostering creativity and enterprise attitudes among students and teachers by encouraging the sharing of ideas, dreams, and projects. Furthermore, it promotes an entrepreneurial culture within schools and emphasizes active, critical, and responsible citizenship entrepreneurship, setting it apart from other programs.

The long-term benefits of PD include fostering predispositions in students that contribute to developing entrepreneurial intentions. Activities such as identifying dreams, creating business cards, teamwork training, and promoting resilience in adversity all contribute to these long-term gains. Additionally, the program’s emphasis on sharing ideas, emotions, and values, as well as teamwork, predicts the formation of positive, democratic, inclusive, and healthy citizens and communities.

The findings underscore the importance of incorporating a flexible, interdisciplinary, and autonomous approach to school entrepreneurship education. This can be achieved by integrating modules into curricula and designing programs that focus on the skills, attitudes, and behaviors characteristic of entrepreneurs. PD’s success in engaging third- and fourth-year primary-school students through captivating narratives, activities, illustrations, and tools further supports its adoption and implementation.

Preliminary findings from PD contribute to the body of knowledge of practical approaches and pedagogical strategies in entrepreneurship education. Second, PD participants seek innovative ways to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and mindset, which is crucial for their future success in a rapidly evolving economy.

Innovative entrepreneurship education, pedagogical resources, and support approaches are needed to promote an entrepreneurial culture. The PD program may act as a model for other educational programs aiming to achieve similar outcomes.

In conclusion, the “Players of Dreams” program presents a promising approach to promoting soft skills in primary-school students. The intervention’s feasibility and acceptability were demonstrated, with preliminary evidence pointing to improvements in various soft skills that are critical for an entrepreneurial mindset. However, further research is necessary to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and long-term impact using a more rigorous study design and a larger sample. Additionally, future studies should explore strategies to address identified barriers, such as better integration into the curriculum, the involvement of parents, and collaboration between schools.

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the importance of soft skills development in primary education, providing valuable insights for educational policy and practice. PD’s implementation is a valuable investment in political-educational options, yielding benefits for teachers, students, and parents. Gains in self-esteem, teamwork, resilience, and reflective thinking are evident, validating the program’s positive impact and the rationale for its inclusion in the elementary school curriculum. In short, promoting entrepreneurship education in primary schools is crucial for nurturing an entrepreneurial culture and preparing future generations to contribute positively to society.

5. Limitations

Despite the methodological care taken in this research, we identified some limitations. First, the findings are from a unique country; nonetheless, it represents a significant number of participants, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of the PD program. The results should be interpreted cautiously when considering applicability to other cultural and educational contexts. Second, PD participants share similar backgrounds and motivations, potentially limiting the diversity of perspectives and experiences captured in the study. Future research should aim to include participants with varied backgrounds to enhance the generalizability of findings.

Furthermore, PD participants comprise a sample of those who are motivated and actively seeking opportunities for personal growth and development in entrepreneurship. Generalizing findings to other young individuals who may not share the same level of motivation or interest in entrepreneurship is impossible. Further research involving a more diverse population is necessary to establish the broader impact of the PD program on fostering an entrepreneurial culture.

6. Ideas and Suggestions for Future Work

The results obtained through this study highlight the potential effectiveness of the “Players of Dreams” (PD) program in promoting socio-emotional skills among students in the fourth year of elementary school. Because of these conclusions, some suggestions and guidelines for future investigations include: (1) curriculum integration—given the identified barriers, such as time constraints and managing competing academic activities, a deeper integration of the PD program into the school curriculum is recommended; this can be done by adapting the program to fit specific modules or as a cross-cutting component; (2) longitudinal studies—conducting longitudinal studies would help us to understand the long-term effects of the PD program on student training and skill development over the years; (3) sample expansion—to strengthen the findings of this study, it is suggested to expand the sample and include more schools, possibly extending the research to other levels of education; (4) comparison with other programs—it would be interesting to compare the PD program with similar educational interventions to identify distinctive elements and areas for improvement; (5) qualitative evaluation—interviews and focus groups with teachers, students, and parents can provide deeper insights into the program’s acceptability, feasibility, and perceived impact on the school environment and community; and (6) economic assessment—assessing the costs and benefits associated with implementing the PD program can help decision-makers assess its large-scale feasibility.

In short, the “Players of Dreams” program offers an innovative path to developing socio-emotional skills in elementary-school students. However, to maximize its impact and scope, it is essential to continue research and adapt the program based on feedback and emerging results.