Play-Based Learning: Benefits and Challenges of its Implementation
Keywords:
Play-based leaning; free-play; guided-play; pre-school educators’ perspective; implementation
Abstract
This study explores how Eritrean pre-school educators viewed and conceptualized play-based learning (PBL), the benefits, and challenges of its implementation. A semi-structured interview was conducted with nine teachers, six principals, and two pre-primary education curriculum developers. Interviews were thematically analyzed. The study found discrepancies between participants’ views and their implementation. Our findings indicate that most of the participants viewed PBL as incorporating both free-play and guided play. However, the result of this study revealed that free play cannot effectively be used as an instrument to teach lessons that have specific academic objectives such as numeracy and literacy skills. Besides, the researchers sought to investigate the actual practices of PBL and the study found that majority of educators were placed at the Child Adult Involvement Continuum extremes, free-play, and direct instruction. Furthermore, the result revealed that various challenges were teachers face as they try to implement PBL, but the most common barrier discussed by interviewees was the lack of awareness of parents and principals towards PBL. Finally, the study concluded that the reason teachers lie at the two extremes of the Child Adults Involvement Continuum could be due to their views towards PBL, and its benefits and the challenges they face in implementing it.
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References
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11. Fisher, K., Hirsh Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Singer, D. G., & Berk, L. (2010). Playing around. Parenting, 341–363.
12. Fung, C. K. H., & Cheng, D. P. W. (2012). Consensus or dissensus? Stakeholders’ views on the role of play in learning. Early Years, 32(1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2011.599794
13. Geary, D. C. (2007). Educating the evolved mind: Conceptual foundations for an evolutionary educational psychology. In Educating the Evolved Mind: Conceptual Foundations for an Evolutionary Educational Psychology (pp. 1–100). http://goo.gl/ZqG4kS
14. Gleave, J., & Cole-hamilton, I. (2012). A literature review on the effects of a lack of play on children’s lives. Play England, January, 34. http://www.playengland.org.uk/media/371031/a-world-without-play-literature-review-2012.pdf
15. Goldstein, J. (2012). Play in Children ’ S Development , Health and Well-Being. Toy Industries of Europe, February.
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18. Hunter, T., & Walsh, G. (2014). From policy to practice?: The reality of play in primary school classes in Northern Ireland. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2013.830561
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22. NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 [Position Statement]. https://www.naeyc.org/sites
23. Nilsson, M., & Ferholt, B. (2014). Vygotsky’s theories of play, imagination and creativity in current practice: Gunilla Lindqvist’s “creative pedagogy of play” in U. S. kindergartens and Swedish Reggio-Emilia inspired preschools. Perspectiva, 32(3), 919. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795x.2014v32n3p919
24. Pui-Wah, D. C., & Stimpson, P. (2004). Articulating contrasts in kindergarten teachers’ implicit knowledge on play-based learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 41(4–5), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2005.08.005
25. Pyle, A. (2011). Play-based learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1–18.
26. Pyle, A., Prioletta, J., & Poliszczuk, D. (2018). The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0852-z
27. Rushton, S., Juolaa-Rushton, A., & Larkin, E. (2010). No Title. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(5), 351–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0359-3
28. Shaffer, D. R., & Kipp, K. (2010). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. In Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (Eighth). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.41.020190.002131
29. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (eds.)). Harvard University Press.
30. Walsh, G., Sproule, L., McGuinness, C., Trew, K., & Ingram, G. (2010). Developmentally appropriate practice and play-based pedagogy in early years education A literature review of research and practice Table of Contents. School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, June, 13–21.
31. Walsh, Glenda, & Gardner, J. (2006). Teachers’ readiness to embrace change in the early years of schooling: A northern ireland perspective. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 21(1), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930285209961
32. Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(2), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12015
33. Weisberg, D. S., Kittredge, A. K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Klahr, D. (2015). Making play work for education. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(8), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721715583955
34. Whitbread, D., & Coltman, P. (2008). Teaching and Learning in the Early Years. In Teaching and Learning in the Early Years: Third Edition (p. 424). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930823
35. Wood, E. (2004). Developing a pedagogy of play. In Early Childhood Education: Society and Culture.
36. Wu, S. C. (2014). Practical and conceptual aspects of children’s play in Hong Kong and German kindergartens. Early Years, 34(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2013.818936
37. Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish (2nd Editio). The Guliford Pres.
2. Baker, F. S. (2015). Challenges presented to personal theories, beliefs and practices of play in Abu Dhabi kindergartens: the English Medium teacher perspective. Early Years, 35(1), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2014.958982
3. Bergen, D. (2009). Play as the Learning Medium for Future Scientists , Mathematicians , and Engineers.
4. Bodrova, E. (2008). Make-believe play versus academic skills: a Vygotskian approach to today’s dilemma of early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(3), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930802291777
5. Bruner, J. S., Jolly, A., & Sylva, K. (1976). Play: Its Role in Development and Evolution. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
6. Bubikova-Moan, J., Næss Hjetland, H., & Wollscheid, S. (2019). ECE teachers’ views on play-based learning: a systematic review. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 27(6), 776–800. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2019.1678717
7. Burghardt, G. M. (2012). Defining and Recognizing Play. The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195393002.013.0002
8. Danniels, E., & Pyle, A. (2018). Defining Play-based Learning. In Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development.
9. ECCE. (2011). Early Learning and Development Standards for Children from 4 to 6 Years old (49 months -72 months). http://ridum.umanizales.edu.co:8080/jspui/bitstream/6789/377/4/Muñoz_Zapata_Adriana_Patricia_Artículo_2011.pdf
10. Fesseha, E., & Pyle, A. (2016). Conceptualising play-based learning from kindergarten teachers’ perspectives. International Journal of Early Years Education, 24(3), 361–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2016.1174105.
11. Fisher, K., Hirsh Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Singer, D. G., & Berk, L. (2010). Playing around. Parenting, 341–363.
12. Fung, C. K. H., & Cheng, D. P. W. (2012). Consensus or dissensus? Stakeholders’ views on the role of play in learning. Early Years, 32(1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2011.599794
13. Geary, D. C. (2007). Educating the evolved mind: Conceptual foundations for an evolutionary educational psychology. In Educating the Evolved Mind: Conceptual Foundations for an Evolutionary Educational Psychology (pp. 1–100). http://goo.gl/ZqG4kS
14. Gleave, J., & Cole-hamilton, I. (2012). A literature review on the effects of a lack of play on children’s lives. Play England, January, 34. http://www.playengland.org.uk/media/371031/a-world-without-play-literature-review-2012.pdf
15. Goldstein, J. (2012). Play in Children ’ S Development , Health and Well-Being. Toy Industries of Europe, February.
16. Gray, P. (2013). Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. In Basic Books.
17. Habtom, A. (2001). Abeba Habtom. (2001) A Ten-Year Early Childhood Care and Education Work Report. Eritrea: Ministry of Education.
18. Hunter, T., & Walsh, G. (2014). From policy to practice?: The reality of play in primary school classes in Northern Ireland. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2013.830561
19. Lee, H., Tamminen, K. A., Clark, A. M., Slater, L., Spence, J. C., & Holt, N. L. (2015). A meta-study of qualitative research examining determinants of children’s independent active free play. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0165-9
20. Miller, E., & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the Kindergarten. Why children need to to Play in School. In Alliance for childhood. www.allianceforchildhood.org.
21. Movahedazarhouligh, S. (2018). Teaching Play Skills to Children with Disabilities: Research-Based Interventions and Practices. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(6), 587–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0917-7
22. NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 [Position Statement]. https://www.naeyc.org/sites
23. Nilsson, M., & Ferholt, B. (2014). Vygotsky’s theories of play, imagination and creativity in current practice: Gunilla Lindqvist’s “creative pedagogy of play” in U. S. kindergartens and Swedish Reggio-Emilia inspired preschools. Perspectiva, 32(3), 919. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795x.2014v32n3p919
24. Pui-Wah, D. C., & Stimpson, P. (2004). Articulating contrasts in kindergarten teachers’ implicit knowledge on play-based learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 41(4–5), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2005.08.005
25. Pyle, A. (2011). Play-based learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1–18.
26. Pyle, A., Prioletta, J., & Poliszczuk, D. (2018). The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0852-z
27. Rushton, S., Juolaa-Rushton, A., & Larkin, E. (2010). No Title. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(5), 351–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0359-3
28. Shaffer, D. R., & Kipp, K. (2010). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. In Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (Eighth). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.41.020190.002131
29. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (eds.)). Harvard University Press.
30. Walsh, G., Sproule, L., McGuinness, C., Trew, K., & Ingram, G. (2010). Developmentally appropriate practice and play-based pedagogy in early years education A literature review of research and practice Table of Contents. School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, June, 13–21.
31. Walsh, Glenda, & Gardner, J. (2006). Teachers’ readiness to embrace change in the early years of schooling: A northern ireland perspective. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 21(1), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930285209961
32. Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(2), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12015
33. Weisberg, D. S., Kittredge, A. K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Klahr, D. (2015). Making play work for education. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(8), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721715583955
34. Whitbread, D., & Coltman, P. (2008). Teaching and Learning in the Early Years. In Teaching and Learning in the Early Years: Third Edition (p. 424). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930823
35. Wood, E. (2004). Developing a pedagogy of play. In Early Childhood Education: Society and Culture.
36. Wu, S. C. (2014). Practical and conceptual aspects of children’s play in Hong Kong and German kindergartens. Early Years, 34(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2013.818936
37. Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish (2nd Editio). The Guliford Pres.
Published
2024-04-08
How to Cite
Haile, T. S., & Ghirmai, D. J. (2024). Play-Based Learning: Benefits and Challenges of its Implementation. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 28, 15. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/18002
Section
ESI Preprints
Copyright (c) 2024 Tekli Simon Haile, Daniel Jambo Ghirmai
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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