Views of Greek Primary Education Professionals on the Utilisation of Play within Preschool and School Environments

Abstract

Although play comprises a key factor for children’s learning and development, it seems not to be connected with learning or utilised for pedagogical purposes, by a large part of the educational community within Greek preschool environments. This study, conducted during the 2019-2020 school year, aims at exploring, with the aid of a questionnaire, the views of kindergarten educators (N:715) and elementary school teachers (N:793) throughout Greece, regarding play and its utilisation as a didactic tool in kindergarten and elementary school. The investigational data showed that within school environments, play is mainly associated with the pupils’ recess whereas for preschool environments, it is about reaching learning and teaching goals. Kindergarten educators use play to teach pupils of linguistic and logical-mathematical senses, while elementary school teachers barely utilise it likewise. Finally, this study underlines the re-training of educationalists towards the better utilisation of play within the educational process.