Al-Fattal, Magdalena (2021). Special Playgroups and Peer Relationships. Thesis II (master's degree) in Special Education. Faculty of Learning and Society. Malmö University. Special playgroups which correspond to IPG (Integrated play groups), is a method based on guided participation to support children with autism through inclusion and play. This qualitative study examines the effect of the special playgroup on children’s social interaction and on peer relationships. The aim of the study is that the educators gain an increased understanding of the special playgroup's significance for peer relationships. The study can contribute to research-based working methods permeating the preschool's activities. The study also contributes to previous studies with more understanding of how peer relationships change during the special playgroup. The specified questions of this study are: • What effect does the special playgroup have on children’s social interaction? • How do peer relationships change during the special playgroup? The results revealed that in the special playgroup, the participants have created a common culture with an approach that is based on inviting everyone to play and to support everyone's play initiatives. With the support of each other and of the adult present, the children develop the peer-play and their relationships in the special playgroup. In other words, by the adult participating in the children's play and making it a tool for learning and forming a reciprocal relationship-friendship with peers, an awareness and a level of reflection is created in children. The development of forming a reciprocal relationship-friendship extends also beyond the special playgroup and is noticeable in the preschool's other contexts. The implication is that this study consistent with previous studies that participation in a special playgroup has a great influence on supporting children both with and without autism to form relationships-friendships with each other. It helps the children to be truly included because children without difficulties learn to be responsive to other peer's play initiatives and learn to put deviant behaviors of their friends in a context. What distinguish this study is that it provides in-depth knowledge and understanding for how peer relationships change during the special playgroup.

This thesis examines the establishment and maintenance of an early childhood playgroup project in an Australian university setting. It examines the playing out of the intention of a university to create a collaborative partnership with an early childhood playgroup initiative within a higher education policy climate actively promoting such endeavours. The study documents the struggle to establish the playgroup project, elaborating the conditions that enabled and/or constrained its inclusion into a university setting. To do so, it investigates the contextual and relational issues that sustained or impeded the operationalisation of the playgroup project, identifying the stakeholders and the parts they played in supporting the initiative. The aim of the study is to generate new knowledge of a little-researched area, namely that of partnerships between universities and the community in the area of early childhood education. The study is underpinned by the feminist theoretical work of Dorothy Smith (1987), and so takes the everyday world as problematic, using this standpoint as an analytic framework through which to observe and understand women's lives as they worked to establish the playgroup project in the university setting. Additionally the work of Marilyn Strathern (1997) concerning the audit culture of universities was used to enhance Smith's epistemological approach. The data collection methods for the study were in-depth interviews, participant observations and document analysis. In-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with seventeen women involved with the playgroup project. The sample comprised ten playgroup parents, four women from the Centre for Human Services, and three lecturers from the Child and Family Studies section of the School for Human Services. Additionally participant observations were completed and recorded as field notes. The majority of these took place in the playgroup rooms. The collection and examination of documentation associated with the playgroup project focused on significant documents ranging from emails and parking permits, to government and university policy imperatives. These documents were analysed as texts mediating the playgroup initiative. Findings detailed the conditions that enabled and/or constrained the inclusion of the playgroup project into a university setting. It was found the playgroup project was enabled by: government and university policies encouraging university and community partnership; a genuine intention on behalf of the university to promote partnerships with the community; thematics in the discourse of early childhood education promoting the profession's caring nature; and, committed people who worked to ensure the continuation of the playgroup project. It was found that the playgroup project was constrained by: government and university policies promoting research agendas; a partnership that was not collaborative in nature; disagreements about decision-making and leadership within the playgroups; the hierarchical nature of the university; and, differing notions of work and play that made the playgroups difficult to sustain. The study identified factors that enabled and/or constrained a specific community and university partnership in relation to early childhood education. In doing so it begins to fill a gap in the literature in this area. Findings from this study may be used to inform early childhood professionals and academics by expanding their awareness of the issues involved in undertaking a partnership such as this one. The implications that flow from the study included the need for greater understanding of the anthropology of the university and its systemic organisation, a formal contract for the partnership specifying the obligations of each party and outlining expectations, and the inclusion of committed people, prepared to work toward genuine collaborative partnerships.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of community playgroups on the playfulness of children ages 15 months to 3 years with special needs. In addition to playfulness of the child, the sensitivity and responsiveness of the caregiver were examined. A quasi-experimental, pretest-and-posttest, repeated measures design was used to follow eight children and their caregivers receiving early intervention services and taking part in a community playgroup. The children and their caregivers were measured during a 4-week standard-of-care baseline, before and after an 8-week intervention period, and 4 week post-intervention. The Test of Playfulness (ToP) was utilized to measure playfulness at baseline, before and after intervention, and at follow-up. Qualitative ratings for caregiver-child interaction based on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development scales measured the sensitivity and responsiveness of the caregiver. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that participation in the 8-week playgroup significantly increased child playfulness ( p < .01). Analysis did not detect a change in caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness as a result of intervention. All caregivers who participated in the playgroup were initially highly sensitive responders to their children. Four weeks post-intervention, a strong, positive linear relationship was found between the sensitivity and responsiveness of the caregiver and the playfulness of the child. The effectiveness of the community playgroup has implications for part of comprehensive occupational therapy practice in early intervention.

In this research project the context of a playgroup is used in the exploration of the developing meanings of preschool children living in a community village. Therapeutic goals include the co-construction of a group context where alternative behavioural social skills, and the related meanings thereof, could evolve in relationship with the therapist / researcher and peers. The research process is based on an underlying ecosystemic epistemology, social constructionistic theory and a narrative approach to therapy. A naturalistic research design includes the use of qualitative methods of play as therapeutic tools in the exploration of meanings. Research findings show the emergence of co-constructed meaning categories between all the participants of the research to be those of respect, responsibility and hope. The therapeutic significance of these three themes for this age group of children is discussed, and linked to the further construction of meanings. / PSYCHOLOGY / MA

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie navorsing is, om te bepaal of gesyferdheid by kleuters binne `n speelgroepsituasie ontwikkel kan word deur middel van `n program wat wiskundige konsepte aan kleuters oordra. Ten einde hierdie doel te bereik is `n wiskunde program waarin verskillende hulpmiddels gebruik word, vir die kleuters aangebied. Die wiskunde program wat gebruik is, is saamgestel aan die hand van Charner, Murphy en Clark (2007) se “The Giant Encyclopedia of Math Activities for Children 3 to 6”. Die aktiwiteite wat tydens die voortoets en natoets gebruik is, is uit verskillende bronne op die internet verkry. Die aktiwiteite is uit gemelde bronne geneem en aangepas om by kleuters se ontwikkelingsvermoë te pas. Aan die einde van die wiskunde program kon daar `n verbetering in al die leerders se wiskunde vaardighede waargeneem word. Die resultate van die studie dui dus daarop dat kleuters se begrip en vaardigheid met wiskundige konsepte op `n vroeë ouderdom in `n speelgroep ontwikkel kan word. / The aim of this study was to determine whether numeracy can be developed among preschoolers in `n playgroup situation by means of a numeracy programme which introduces them to mathematical concepts. To achieve this aim a numeracy programme was used to introduce the mathematical concepts. The numeracy programme that was used is a programme compiled from “The Giant Encyclopedia of Math Activities for Children 3 to 6” by Charner, Murphy and Clark (2007). The activities which were used during the pre-test and post-test were taken from different sources on the internet. The activities taken from these different sources were adapted to the appropriate developmental phase of the preschoolers. At the end of the programme the post-test indicated an improvement in the mathematical competence of all the learners. The results of the study prove that preschoolers in a playgroup can improve their numeracy skills in the early years. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Didaktiek)

In this research project the context of a playgroup is used in the exploration of the developing meanings of preschool children living in a community village. Therapeutic goals include the co-construction of a group context where alternative behavioural social skills, and the related meanings thereof, could evolve in relationship with the therapist / researcher and peers. The research process is based on an underlying ecosystemic epistemology, social constructionistic theory and a narrative approach to therapy. A naturalistic research design includes the use of qualitative methods of play as therapeutic tools in the exploration of meanings. Research findings show the emergence of co-constructed meaning categories between all the participants of the research to be those of respect, responsibility and hope. The therapeutic significance of these three themes for this age group of children is discussed, and linked to the further construction of meanings. / PSYCHOLOGY / MA

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie navorsing is, om te bepaal of gesyferdheid by kleuters binne `n speelgroepsituasie ontwikkel kan word deur middel van `n program wat wiskundige konsepte aan kleuters oordra. Ten einde hierdie doel te bereik is `n wiskunde program waarin verskillende hulpmiddels gebruik word, vir die kleuters aangebied. Die wiskunde program wat gebruik is, is saamgestel aan die hand van Charner, Murphy en Clark (2007) se “The Giant Encyclopedia of Math Activities for Children 3 to 6”. Die aktiwiteite wat tydens die voortoets en natoets gebruik is, is uit verskillende bronne op die internet verkry. Die aktiwiteite is uit gemelde bronne geneem en aangepas om by kleuters se ontwikkelingsvermoë te pas. Aan die einde van die wiskunde program kon daar `n verbetering in al die leerders se wiskunde vaardighede waargeneem word. Die resultate van die studie dui dus daarop dat kleuters se begrip en vaardigheid met wiskundige konsepte op `n vroeë ouderdom in `n speelgroep ontwikkel kan word. / The aim of this study was to determine whether numeracy can be developed among preschoolers in `n playgroup situation by means of a numeracy programme which introduces them to mathematical concepts. To achieve this aim a numeracy programme was used to introduce the mathematical concepts. The numeracy programme that was used is a programme compiled from “The Giant Encyclopedia of Math Activities for Children 3 to 6” by Charner, Murphy and Clark (2007). The activities which were used during the pre-test and post-test were taken from different sources on the internet. The activities taken from these different sources were adapted to the appropriate developmental phase of the preschoolers. At the end of the programme the post-test indicated an improvement in the mathematical competence of all the learners. The results of the study prove that preschoolers in a playgroup can improve their numeracy skills in the early years. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Didaktiek)