Teacher’s Involvement in Children’s Play in the Preschool Classroom
Author(s):
Lia Tsermidou (presenting / submitting) Kalliroi Papadopoulou (presenting) Despina Papoudi Alexandra Androussou Litsa Kourti Ageliki Gianikopoulou
Conference:
ECER 2014
Network:
03. Curriculum Innovation
Format:
Paper

Session Information

03 SES 10 A, Curriculum Implementation and Teachers' View

Paper Session

Time:
2014-09-04
15:30-17:00
Room:
B110 Sala de Aulas
Chair:
Mark Priestley

Contribution

Play is recognized as a central activity of preschoolers and different theories emphasize how play contributes to child development and learning. Theory and research also point to the many advantages of the joint play between children and preschool teachers which relate to developmental and educational attainments: joint play contributes to the development of children’s cognitive, emotional and social abilities, supports communication and the establishment of positive relationships and provides a suitable context for the introduction of educational goals.

Teachers themselves perceive play as valuable for young children and believe that, directly or indirectly, play supports development and learning. At the same time, research indicates preschool teachers’ ambiguity and uncertainty about whether and how they can be involved in children’s play.   One important factor mediating the degree and type of teachers’ involvement in preschoolers’ play relates to their beliefs regarding play and its role in development and learning.  However, this connection has not been adequately researched, especially with regards to implementation of educational goals.

The present study contributes to understanding teachers’ involvement in preschoolers’ play and the factors mediating the adoption of joint play in the early childhood classroom. The research questions addressed were: (1) How do preschool teachers understand children’s play (2) What are their self-reported practices regarding teacher-children joint play in the preschool classroom and (3) What affects such practices.

Method

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used: quantitative in order to collect comparable and analyzable data through statistical data analysis methods; qualitative in order to gain in depth understanding of emerging issues. The quantitative approach involved 2 questionnaires, completed by 250 preschool teachers in the wider Athens area in Greece, regarding (1) teachers’ beliefs about play (23 items, 6-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree) and (2) teachers’ involvement in children’s play (18 items, 6-point scale from always to never). The qualitative approach adopted the method of focus group discussions (3 focus groups, 16 participants in total) and content analysis.

Expected Outcomes

The findings from both quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that teachers view play as a means for development and learning and that this view is positively associated to their active involvement in children’s play. However, when it comes to achieving educational goals through play, they appear to adopt a more “distant” role (non-involvement), as if educational goals cannot be so easily attained through joint play. Results are discussed in relation to the literature on play in the early childhood context and suggestions for further research are presented.

References

Sherwood, S. & Reifel, S. (2010). The multiple meanings of play: exploring preservice teachers’ beliefs about a central element of early childhood education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 31 (4), 322-343. Wood, E. & Attfield, J. (2005). Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum. London: Sage. Kontos, S. (1999). Preschool teachers' talk, roles and activity settings during free play. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14 (3), 363-382. Bennett, N., Wood, L. and Rogers, S. (1997). Teaching through Play: Teacher's Thinking and Classroom Practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. Saracho, O. N., & Spodek, B. (2003). Contemporary Perspectives on Play in Early. Childhood Education. Vol. III. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.

Author Information

Lia Tsermidou (presenting / submitting)
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Faculty of Early Childhood Education
Athens
Kalliroi Papadopoulou (presenting)
Faculty of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Despina Papoudi
Faculty of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Alexandra Androussou
Faculty of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Litsa Kourti
Faculty of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Ageliki Gianikopoulou
Faculty of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

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