Play In Early Childhood Classrooms Research Articles

Planning for Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

Planning for Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

Teacher experiences of facilitating play in early childhood classrooms during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges for the lives of children in terms of school closures, loss of routine, reduced social contact, bereavement and trauma. The pandemic also gave rise to a focus on play as a fundamental support for children’s wellbeing. This study examined early childhood teachers’ reported practices of using play upon returning to school in Ireland after lockdown restrictions which included a 6-month period of school closures. Building on previous research on play in early childhood education during the early stages of the pandemic, 12 primary school teachers in early childhood classrooms (children aged 3–8 years) participated in focus groups aimed at exploring teachers’ experiences of using play upon returning to in-class teaching. Through reflexive thematic analysis of the focus groups, four themes were identified that encapsulated teachers’ experiences: play in the classroom embodied similar characteristics and qualities during COVID-19 as before the pandemic; play was considered a priority in early childhood education classrooms; teachers planned carefully for facilitating play in the classroom in response to COVID-19 regulations; teachers’ noted the importance of the social and relational components of play for children in the context of COVID-19 regulations. For educational policy, these findings highlight play as a ‘go-to’ strategy by teachers for supporting children in formal education during a pandemic and suggest play is a well-established context that can be used in educational policies to support children’s learning, especially during and after times of crises.

‘Uncharted territory’: teachers’ perspectives on play in early childhood classrooms in Ireland during the pandemic

ABSTRACT School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the education of 91% of students worldwide. As a critical process in supporting young children’s resilience, play is increasingly recognised as a valuable pedagogical strategy within a shifting educational landscape during the pandemic. This study reports on findings from a survey on play in early childhood education of 310 early childhood teachers during primary school closures in Ireland. Eighty-two per cent of teachers recommended play strategies to parents during remote teaching and home schooling and almost all teachers (99%) intended to use play as a pedagogical strategy upon school reopening. Teachers believed play was an especially important pedagogical tool in supporting young children’s social-emotional development, learning and transition back to school. Over a third highlighted uncertainty surrounding capacity to use play upon school reopening given COVID-19 regulations, emphasising the need for greater guidance to support teachers’ commitment to play-based pedagogical strategies.

Noticing and understanding children’s everyday mathematics during play in early childhood classrooms

ABSTRACT Children’s everyday mathematics has been well evidenced by a growing body of research and is widely acknowledged as fundamental to meaningful learning in early childhood education. However, literature supports that drawing upon children’s mathematical resources for further learning requires that the range of these resources is valued and noticed at school. Considering that up to now little is known about the way children express their mathematical ideas during naturally occurring activities within classrooms, this study sought to enhance our understanding of this issue. Informed by previous research on the emergence of early mathematics during play and based on the funds of knowledge framework, we investigated the content, the processes and the origin of children’s mathematical knowledge in a kindergarten classroom, with the aim to understand through a sociocultural lens where and how this knowledge is situated and how this information is revealed during play activities. Evidence foregrounds the importance of examining all the different facets of children’s everyday mathematics for creating responsive curricula and confirms the critical role of play for investigating this type of cultural knowledge within schools.

‘Castillo blueprint’: How young children in multilingual contexts demonstrate and extend literacy and numeracy practices in play

Accountability mandates linked to state education standards and assessments have largely replaced play in early childhood classrooms. This approach limits educators' opportunities by preventing them from using play as a means of identifying and expanding children's diverse range of competencies. In this ethnographic case study, we explore how young children living in a multilingual, new immigrant community use literacy and numeracy practices in play. Drawing from sociocultural theory and ethnomathematics, and highlighting their voices and perspectives, we show how three kindergarten-aged children draw on a broad repertoire of symbolic practices to make meaning as they work together in their play-based afterschool programme. By examining how children use literacy, numeracy and language through their play, we detail how the children collaboratively demonstrate and build knowledge as they build a castle and represent it through a blueprint. We offer implications for how teacher education can better prepare teachers to recognize the diverse range of skills and understandings children bring to school.

Future Professionals’ Perceptions of Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

This study investigates the perceptions of 207 college students in early childhood education and child and family studies (future professionals) regarding the role of play in early childhood classrooms. The results indicate that future professionals in their freshman and sophomore years in college held relatively positive perceptions of play in early childhood education. However, starting with juniors in college, these perceptions followed a notably different pattern. Although participants generally perceived play in early childhood classrooms as important, these students possessed different perceptions about the role of play in relation to childhood learning and play as a curriculum. Upperclass participants expressed lower positive perceptions, a viewpoint that seemed to begin in 3rd-year students and was particularly evident in seniors. Taking play-related courses in college appeared to help education students maintain positive perceptions about play until their senior year. Given that after graduation, these future professionals will soon enter the education field where child-initiated play-based curriculum, standards-based curriculum, and accountability issues frequently collide, the results of this study will shed light on important elements for preparing future professionals for early childhood classrooms. Implications of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future research are also provided.

Following watery relations in early childhood pedagogies

Working methodologically and theoretically with the hydro-logics of bodies of water, this article addresses the limitations of humanistic perspectives on water play in early childhood classrooms, and proposes pedagogies of watery relations. The article traces the fluid, murky, surging, creative, unpredictable specificities of bodies of water that enter an early childhood classroom during a collaborative ethnographic project with young children and early childhood educators.

Children’s flow and aesthetic experience during their free playin early childhood classroom

Children’s flow and aesthetic experience during their free playin early childhood classroom