Literacy-related school readiness through play in Croatia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Within the Croatian educational system, the school readiness programme is defined by the obligation of attending a pre-school curriculum in the year before school. Besides facilitating the transition into school, the programme also focuses on the development of early literacy skills, where play has a significant role. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyse the types of play being applied during this pre-school programme. Forty-two future educators (third-year students) and eight early childhood educators participated in the study. Qualitative methodology was used in the analysis of the students’ written preparation within the course Language-Communication Integrated Curriculum. It was found that most students independently developed incentives and use different types of play in their planning. Quantitative methodology was used to analyse collected data from observing educators enaging through different types of play, and similar results were determined. These findings suggest a positive impact on the development of early literacy skills and children's well-being. Since the different play activities did not carry equal elements of early literacy, the study has strong implications for the modification of educators’ study programmes in Croatia.