No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Explicating the Place of Play: Resolving Dilemmas of Research-to-Practice
Abstract
Synthesizing research with practice in a meaningful manner continues to be a challenge, particularly in relation to securing the place of play in the school setting. The struggle for early childhood teacher educators in dealing with the realities of this research-to-practice dilemma requires constructive action. A theoretical framework that is embedded within Howard Gardner's (200716.
Gardner , H. 2007. Five minds for the future, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. View all references) Five Minds for the Future is recommended, along with strategies for the practitioner in the field and implications for the teacher educator.
... Early childhood experts have long urged that programs for young children should provide for the development of social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and creative skills; however, the findings noted above reflect a shift in this advice. Even in cases where teachers consider play as a serious activity that contributes to learning, they do not know how to translate their beliefs into practice (McLane, 2003;Ranz-Smith, 2012;Ploof, 2014). In short, a gap exists between researchers' recommendations and teaching practice (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009;Logue, Eheart, & Leavitt, 1996). ...
Parents’ beliefs and attitudes about early childhood play-based curriculum are influenced by personal history, socio-economic demographics, and culture. This qualitative study utilized narrative inquiry to delve into six parents’ beliefs on play in preschool. Their beliefs about their children’s participation in a play-based preschool and how their children’s various needs were met inform the family-school partnership. Methods included narrative inquiry, observation, and documentation review. Data sources were analyzed to ascertain commonalities, differences, and emerging themes in parents’ views of a play-based curriculum. Three overriding themes emerged: structure, socialization, and the reputation of their choice of Play Preschool (pseudonym). Additional analysis uncovered a deeper theme of readiness: preparation of their children for “real school,” for college, and for life. The final underlying theme to emerge was fear that the child would be unprepared for school and unable to live a good life, which caused and surrounded the readiness concern. Lastly, this study provided insights for family-school partnerships in which parents’ beliefs are valued.
Through its unique integration of curriculum and learning principles, Early Childhood Curriculum: A Constructivist Perspective, 2nd Edition fosters authentic, developmentally appropriate practice for both preschool and early elementary classrooms. The constructivist format of this book encourages active involvement on the part of readers by asking them to observe, question, reflect, research, and analyze, thus allowing readers to create their own knowledge through their responses and actions.
The current study was designed to assess the vocabulary and literacy skills of young children who participated in an authentic literacy practice, i.e., Vivian Paley's “storytelling curriculum,” over the course of their respective prekindergarten or kindergarten years. We asked: How do prekindergarten and kindergarten age children, who participate in the storytelling curriculum over the course of the school year, perform on pre- and postmeasures of AGS/Pearson Assessments' Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) (3 ed.) Form IIIA, and Whitehurst's Get Ready to Read!, as compared to those young children in the same grade with similar backgrounds and in the same or similar school settings who did not participate in the storytelling curriculum? Results show that in comparison to same-age children in like settings, participants in the storytelling curriculum showed significant gains in both vocabulary knowledge and literacy skills. These findings underscore the possibility of supporting both beginning and experienced teachers in using authentic literacy activities to prepare children for literacy learning, while maintaining their service to a wide range of other developmental issues. They also call into question the prevailing trend to abandon such classroom practices in favor of a skills-centered approach to curriculum.
A qualitative and quantitative reanalysis of the Six Cultures data on children’s play, collected in the 1950s, was performed to revisit worlds of childhood during a time when sample communities were more isolated from mass markets and media than they are today. A count was performed of children aged 3 to 10 in each community sample scored as engaging in creative-constructive play, fantasy play, role play, and games with rules. Children from Nyansongo and Khalapur scored lowest overall, those from Tarong and Juxtlahuaca scored intermediate, and those from Taira and Orchard Town scored highest. Cultural norms and opportunities determined how the kinds of play were stimulated by the physical and social environments (e.g., whether adults encouraged work versus play, whether children had freedom for exploration and motivation to practice adult roles through play, and whether the environment provided easy access to models and materials for creative and constructive play).
Currently the press to make policy and practice decisions on the basis of evidence is being coupled with recognition that real change requires shifts in organizational culture. Consequently, there are now many efforts to "re-culture" organizations by making evidence central to decision making. In this article, the authors problematize the notion of a "culture of evidence" in teacher education. Then the article identifies four key aspects involved in efforts to create a culture of evidence at one institution over a five-year period: (1) development of a portfolio of studies about processes and outcomes; (2) recognition that teacher education always poses values questions as well as empirical questions; (3) an exploratory, open-ended approach to evidence construction; and, (4) multiple structures that institutionalize evidence collection and use locally and beyond. The authors suggests that building cultures of evidence has the potential to be transformative in teacher education, but only if challenges related to sustainability, complexity, and balance are addressed.
In this review we consider the nature and possible developmental functions of three forms of play: pretend, social, and locomotor. Play is defined in terms of dispositional and contextual criteria. First, the frequency ofoccurrence of each form of play across the period of childhood is documented. Developmental function of play is conceptualised in terms ofimmediate or deferred beneficial consequences. Four strategies for examining developmental function are reviewed: arguments from design, correlational analyses, experimental enrichment and deprivation, and cost-benefit analyses. Whereas most theories of play implicitly assume thatduring childhood it occurs frequently and has benefits deferred until adulthood, we suggest that some benefits of play are immediate.
The value of play seems inherent to the understandings of early childhood, but teachers of young children in the elementary grades have rarely been studied as to their attitudes toward play (Wing, 1995). The research explored teacher perceptions of the role of play in learning and the implications for practice. The study involved 4 first-grade teachers from 2 diverse socioeconomic school settings. The pheno-menological work followed a qualitative format of interview with an analysis of related documents. Although the instructors held a common value for play in the development of young learners, they did not make a corresponding provisions for such in their classrooms with the exception of 1 participant. Varying perceptions of the definition and place of play resulted in differing levels of willingness to include child-initiated play that were spawned within the educational contexts. These perceptions led to the inductively realized outcome variables of instructional goals, student products, and classroom climate. Dewey's (1916) view of work and play, Bredekamp and Rosegrant's (1995) Continuum of Teacher Behaviors, and Ajzen and Fishbein's (1980) theory of reasoned action provided frameworks for deductively understanding the teachers' instructional decisions.
ABSTRACTS
In a 9‐month study of 16 preschoolers' classroom literacy behaviors and a related study of one of the students' literacy activities at home, book‐related dramatic play was observed to be an important part of the children's literacy interactions. Analyses of instances where play was related to the meanings of the books the children had read indicated that each instance of book‐related dramatic play could be described in terms of six properties including (a) the scope of play, (b) the type of connection constructed between books and playscripts, (c) children's purposes for play, (d) the perspective or point of view explored, (e) the sign systems used and their relation to book reading events, and (f) the kinds of social interaction involved. Analyses demonstrated that the children created direct linkages between their book and play experiences. Further, the data supported the hypothesis that book‐related dramatic play was much more than a context for literacy learning. For the children participating in this study, it appeared to be a part of the process of comprehending books, expressing one's reactions, experiencing books in affective and kinesthetic ways, and participating in literacy events. Book‐related play also served as a means of inquiry and as a connecting link between the child's world and the adult one represented by books and the book‐reading events in which they were embedded. Play provided a relatively risk‐free environment for exploration of books through an open, child‐directed agenda and offered an array of possible tools for exploration and expression (e.g., the multiple sign systems associated with drama).
EN UN estudio de las actividades de lectoescritura en el aula llevado a cabo durante 9 meses con 16 niños de jardín y, en un trabajo que estudió las actividades de lectoescritura de uno de los niños en su hogar, se observó que el juego dramático relacionado con libros era una parte importante de las interacciones de los niños con la lengua escrita. Los análisis de las instancias en las que el juego estaba relacionado con los significados de los libros que los niños habían leído indicaron que cada instancia del juego dramático podía describirse en términos de seis propiedades que incluían (a) el alcance del juego, (b) el tipo de conexión construída entre libros y guiones, (c) los propósitos de los niños al jugar, (d) la perspectiva o punto de vista explorado, (e) los sistemas de signos usados y su relación con los eventos de lectura de libros y (f) los tipos de interacción social implicados. Los análisis demostraron que los niños crearon vínculos directos entre el libro y las expriencias de juego. Más aún, los datos apoyaron la hipótesis de que el juego dramático relacionado con libros era mucho más que un contexto para el aprendizaje de la lectoescritura. Para los niños que participaron de la experiencia, pareció ser una parte del proceso de comprender los libros, expresar las propias reacciones, vivir experiencias con los libros de formas afectivas y kinestésicas y participar en eventos literarios. El juego relacionado con los libros también sirvió como un medio de investigación y como un vínculo entre el mundo del niño y el mundo adulto representado por los libros y los eventos de lectura en los que estaban involucrados. El juego proporcionó un entorno relativamente libre de riesgos para explorar los libros a través de una planificación abierta y dirigida por el niño y ofreció un conjunto de herramientes posibles para la exploración y expresión (por ej., los múltiples sistemas de signos asociados con el drama).
IN EINER 9‐monatigen Studie über das Lese‐ und Schreibverhalten von einem Klassenraum mit 16 Vorschülern und einer verbundenen Studie von einer Lese‐ und Schreibaktivität dieser Vorschüler zu Hause, wurden buchbezogene Dramen‐Aufführungen als wichtiger Bestandteil der Wechselwirkung in der Auseinandersetzung von Kindern mit dem Lesen und Schreiben wissenschaftlich beobachtet. Analysen von Fällen in denen das Spiel auf die Sinnaussage der Bücher bezogen wurde, welche die Kinder gelesen hatten, zeigten, daß jeder Fall von buchbezogener Dramenaufführung mit sechs abhängigen Eigenschaften beschrieben werden könnte: (a) Umfang und Auswirkung des Spiels, (b) die Art und Weise des konstruierten Zusammenhangs zwischen Büchern und Aufführungsgefüge, (c) Spielmotivationen der Kinder, (d) Erforschen der Perspektive bzw. Ansicht, (e) die benutzten Systeme von Zeichen und Gestik und ihre Beziehung zu den im Buch gelesenen Begebenheiten, und (f) die einbezogenen Arten von sozialer Wechselwirkung. Die Analysen zeigten, daß die Kinder zwischen ihrem Bucherlebnis und ihrer Spiel‐Aufführung direkte Handlungsverbindungen kreierten. Ferner belegten die Daten die Hypothese, daß das buchbezogene DramenSpiel wesentlich mehr war als eine Rahmenbedingung zum Erlernen des Lesens. Für die an der Studie teilnehmenden Kinder erschien es als Bestandteil des Ablaufes zum inhaltlichen Verstehen von Büchern, Ausdruck ihrer Reaktionen, die Erfahrung mit Büchern in gefühlsmäßigen und kinästhetischen Empfindungabläufen, und im Teilnehmen an Schreib‐ und Leseveranstaltungen. Buchbezogenes Spiel diente auch als Mittel zur Erkundigung und als Verbindungsglied zwischen der Welt des Kindes und der des Erwachsenen, dargestellt in Büchern und Buchlesungen und den in ihnen eingebetteten Begebenheiten. Schauspielen ermöglichte ein relativ risikofreies Umfeld zur Erforschung von Büchern durch eine offene, am Kind orientierte Planung und bot eine Vielzahl von möglichen Instrumenten zur Erforschung und Ausdruckserklärung (z.B. durch die vielfältigen Systeme von Zeichen und Gestik, die mit der dramatischen Darstellung verbunden sind).
ON A observé que le jeu dramatique associé au livre constitue une partie importante des interactions de l'enfant en lecture‐écriture, dans une étude de 9 mois portant sur les comportements en lecture‐écriture à l'École Maternelle de 16 enfants et dans une étude portant sur les activités de lecture‐écriture à la maison d'un de ces enfants. Des analyses d'exemples où le jeu était lié aux significations des livres que les enfants avaient lus ont montré que chaque exemple de jeu dramatique lié au livre peut être décrit à l'aide des six critères suivants: (a) le domaine du jeu, (b) le type de relation construit entre les livres et les scénarii de jeu, (c) les buts du jeu pour l'enfant, (d) la perspective ou le point de vue exploré, (e) les systèmes de signes utilisés et leur relation avec les épisodes du livre de lecture, et (f) les types d'interaction sociale impliqués. Des analyses ont démontré que les enfants établissent une relation directe entre le livre et le jeu. En outre, les données confirment l'hypothèse que le jeu dramatique lié au livre est bien plus qu'un contexte pour l'entrée dans l'écrit. Pour les enfants ayant participé à cette étude, le jeu est apparu comme partie prenante du processus de compréhension du livre, de l'expression des réactions personnelles, de la façon de vivre le livre sur le plan affectif et kinesthésique, et de la participation à des situations de lecture‐écriture. Le jeu en relation avec le livre est aussi apparu comme un moyen de recherche ainsi qu'un lien entre le monde de l'enfant et celui de l'adulte, tel que représenté par les livres et par les situations de lecture de livres dans lesquelles ils sont impliqués. Le jeu fournit un environnement relativement sans risque pour l'exploration des livres, dans la mesure où il constitue un temps libre dont l'enfant a la maîtrise et offre une palette d'outils d'exploration et d'expression comme, par exemple, les multiples systèmes de signes du jeu dramatique.
Play training is a strategy in which adults intervene in informal, though purposeful, ways in preschool children's spontaneous, symbolic play. Numerous studies, conducted over a long period of time, have shown that such adult interventions can enhance play and related areas of development. There is a good deal of dissension in the literature, however, regarding the specific processes by which such interventions lead to positive child outcomes. Does direct adult contact explain developmental gains? Do interventions indirectly promote development by enhancing play abilities? The focus of this article is not on whether play training works, but why it works. A theoretical framework for examining adult-child play interactions, which reconciles diverse perspectives in the literature, is presented in this article. Implications for classroom practice and future research in play intervention are examined.
A one-year ethnographic study of the organization of work and play was conducted in a kindergarten founded to foster spontaneous play in the generation of work, as inspired by Froebel and Dewey. My study describes how the dominance of structures favoring work in the use of time, product tracking, and instructive language has severely reduced the time, social relationships, and generative scenarios available to children in play.
This basic qualitative study explores preservice teachers' beliefs about what constitutes play. Research for this study focused on 7 preservice teachers enrolled in an early childhood through Grade 4 practicum course at a small private university in south central Texas. The findings of this study indicate that both on an individual and group level the 7 preservice teachers seemed to believe that play had multiple meanings. Even though commonalities existed among some of the attributes used by the preservice teachers to describe play, no two preservice teachers used the same combination of attributes to define play. Instead, based on the influences that had shaped their beliefs, they strung these attributes together in unique ways. Thus, for each of the preservice teachers, play seemed to have an individualized meaning consisting of multiple parts.
Children's understanding of the purpose of school tasks—including the learning purpose of these tasks—and influences on this understanding were explored. Where teachers clarified what the tasks were intended to teach, kindergarten children were able to understand the learning purpose. In classrooms where teachers emphasized work completion and used basic skills worksheets as their instructional core, students were more likely to perceive their tasks as work that they have to do. However, work can be understood as the need for mental effort, reflecting the teacher's emphasis on the thinking required to learn. Implications of differences in children's perceptions of school tasks and of the meaning of learning and work are noted.
The article starts by illustrating how children's right to participation comes to the fore in legal documents regulating the field of early childhood education in Norway. Issues regarding the views of children, understanding of democracy and of play, which influence how this right is realised in early childhood practice, are taken as a point of departure to discuss possible pitfalls. Based on analyses from an in-depth qualitative study in two Norwegian kindergartens (children aged three to six), two examples are presented to argue an understanding of children's participation which include more than individualistic choice routines. The article is rounded off by taking a critical look at conceptualisations used in early childhood practice and research, arguing that there is a need for critical self- reflection amongst researchers in the field.
The social participation of 40 nursery-school children was analyzed. The spontaneous play groups occurring during the free-play hour were observed by a one-minute sampling and the social behavior of each child was recorded. Social participation was classified under: unoccupied; solitary play; onlooker; parallel group activity; associative group play; and cooperative group play. Unoccupied behavior was observed in only five children, while all children engaged in solitary play. All but two children were observed in onlooker situations, and all but one in associative play groups. Parallel activity occurred more often than any other; two-thirds of the children played in this manner over 33% of the time. Cooperative play occupied from 1 to 57% of the observations. Correlation of social participation was made with several other factors: (1) social participation is dependent to a large extent upon the age of children, (2) there is a slight relationship between intelligence quotients and the degree of social participation of individuals (.26), (3) nursery-school experience correlated with social participation scores .12. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There is a discontinuity between the nonlinear ways that young children learn and the linear educational institutions where teachers and caregivers are trained, even though research shows that specialized training for the age group is essential. Programs for teacher preparation vary widely in content and strategy, and accreditation is not yet consistent or a consistent commitment. Presently, these are weaknesses, but the diversity of the field allows for alternative, dynamic approaches consistent with nonlinear learning.
Many early childhood practitioners in the U.S. are experiencing tension between their desire to offer students developmentally
appropriate learning experiences and their obligation to teach the academic knowledge and skills mandated by their states.
However, careful examination of the DAP guidelines’ definition of culturally appropriate practice reveals a significant sociopolitical
dimension that has been obscured by the field’s tight focus on the sociocultural dimension. Because standards-based education
is an explicit feature of the sociopolitical landscape of U. S. public education, teaching the standards is developmentally
appropriate practice. Implementation of this broadened understanding of DAP adds new complexity to early childhood teachers’
work. This article offers ideas drawn from Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky, and Dewey as sources of theoretical support and provides
examples of strategic decision making—illustrated with examples drawn from Texas kindergartens—that can assist teachers in
managing the curricular and instructional complexities that accompany the broadened understanding of DAP.
Changing times and postmodern perspectives have disrupted the taken-for-granted relationship between child development knowledge and the preparation of early childhood teachers. Despite ongoing exchanges about how best to respond to the critique of the developmental knowledge base, few descriptions of how particular teacher educators have gone about reconceptualizing their curriculum exist. Employing postmodern views of knowledge, power, and subjectivity, this article describes three pedagogies employed by the authors to enact a postmodern teacher education. After describing each of these pedagogies—situating knowledge, multiple readings, and engaging with images—an example
from classroom practice is given to illustrate how these strategies come together to assist students to understand how teaching enacts power relations. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the challenges involved in trying to shift from developmental to postmodern practices in the preparation of early childhood educators.