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Intercultural education in Sweden is needed more than ever, because preschools are increasingly characterized by groups of children with diverse backgrounds. Guided play is an ideal educational tool for preschool teachers to promote intercultural values, since it combines the joy of play with cultural learning, so I wanted to investigate whether this tool is being utilized or not. This study explores how preschool teachers define intercultural education; the ways preschool teachers use guided play to promote intercultural values; and which (if any) differences there are in teachers’ practices to promote intercultural values depending on the extent of cultural and linguistic diversity present in the group of children they work with. The study also considers preschool teachers’ ideas about what educational policymakers could do to facilitate the endeavor of promoting intercultural values at preschool. The study is based on six semi-structured, individual interviews with preschool teachers who currently work in Swedish preschools. The research results show that there are a number of definitions for intercultural education in use by Swedish preschool teachers, rather than a single, universal definition, and that guided play is used a lot in both direct and indirect ways to promote intercultural values by preschool teachers. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of four key findings: 1) the definition of intercultural education is interpreted in different ways by preschool teachers; 2) preschool teachers use guided play in a variety of ways to promote intercultural values; 3) the way the preschool teachers work with intercultural values depends on whether children have reached verbal ability or whether the majority of the group speak the Swedish language; 4) preschool teachers believe that educational policymakers can contribute to their endeavor in promoting intercultural values in preschool education by a variety of ways.

Early childhood educators in the United States and worldwide face the growing challenge of “schoolification,” - the imposition of conventional academic content from later grade levels into their classrooms (e.g., Ring & O’Sullivan, 2018). The science of learning offers a different approach with evidence to support more active, engaging, and inclusive educational environments for all students (e.g., Darling-Hammond et al., 2020, Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2020, Nasir et al., 2021). The Active Playful Learning framework is one promising model that combines principles of how children learn through play, and particularly adult-initiated, child-directed guided play (e.g., Weisberg et al., 2013), with the “6 Cs,” a set of skills for success in the classroom and beyond. A preliminary, mixed methods evaluation of an intervention to promote guided play in kindergarten classrooms through instructional coaching was conducted by Nesbitt et al. (under review) across New Hampshire. This study builds on the prior research, first by attempting to replicate the positive effects of the intervention for teachers and students, as provided by teacher reports. It then advances beyond the previous study to determine if teacher and student behaviors shaped by guided play and the playful learning principles are detectable through independent classroom observations. Lastly, it incorporates a preliminary comparison between intervention and business as usual control classrooms. Results support a replication of the previous teacher reports. Other results are mixed, but they indicate significant behavior changes consistent with adoption of playful learning, even if not yet guided play. This study represents a considerable advance in our implementation and evaluation of Active Playful Learning for educators and students. / Psychology

This dissertation offers the first set of empirical studies to examine the differential impact of didactic instruction and playful learning practices on geometric shape knowledge. Previous research demonstrated that successful child-centered, guided play pedagogies are often characterized by two components: (a) dialogic inquiry, or exploratory talk with the teacher, and (b) physical engagement with the educational materials. Building on this conclusion, three studies examined how guided play promotes criterial learning of shapes. Experiment 1 examined whether guided play or didactic instruction techniques promote criterial learning of four geometric shapes compared to a control condition. Results suggested that children in both didactic and guided play conditions learn the criterial features; however, this equivalence was most evident for relatively easy, familiar shapes (e.g., circles). A trend suggested that guided play promoted superior criterial understanding when learning more complex, novel shapes (i.e., pentagons). Experiment 2 expands on the previous study by examining how exposure to enriched geometric curricular content (e.g., teaching with typical shape exemplars only vs. typical and atypical exemplars) augments shape learning in guided play. As hypothesized, children taught with a mix of typical and atypical exemplars showed superior criterial learning compared to those in taught with only typical exemplars. Experiment 3 further explores the factors that facilitate shape learning by comparing the effectiveness of guided play, enriched free-play, and didactic instruction on children's criterial learning of two familiar shapes (triangles, rectangles) and two unfamiliar, complex shapes (pentagons, hexagons). As hypothesized, those who learned via guided play outperformed those who learned in didactic instruction who, in turn, outperformed those in enriched free play. In both didactic instruction and guided play, children's shape concepts persisted over one week. The findings from these studies suggest (1) guided play promotes equal or better criterial learning than didactic instruction, (2) curricular content (shape experience) augments criterial learning in guided play and (3) dialogic inquiry may be a key mechanism underlying guided play. The current research not only has implications for enhancing the acquisition of abstract spatial concepts but also for understanding the mechanisms that foster playful learning. / Psychology

Recent research has elucidated the sustained benefits of early mathematics instruction. With growing concern about the performance of South Africa’s senior learners in mathematics, it is imperative to look at long-term solutions within the education process. One such solution may be to focus on improved mathematics instruction as early as preprimary school. However, children at this young age are not typically suited to formal teaching. Alternative methods of mathematics instruction must be considered for maximum and effective impact. The study was conducted to test the notion that not all early methods of mathematics instruction are equal. During the empirical research approximately 200 preprimary school children in three different socio-economic environments (urban higher SES, township and rural) were tested after experiencing a teacher-guided play-based mathematics teaching intervention, or after experiencing a worksheet-based or free-flow play-based curriculum. The test performance of the participants was primarily compared to find relations between teaching methods and early mathematics performance. The study found that a teacher-guided play-based curriculum is superior to other curriculums in the instruction of mathematics in all educational settings, regardless of socioeconomic background. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Recent research has elucidated the sustained benefits of early mathematics instruction. With growing concern about the performance of South Africa’s senior learners in mathematics, it is imperative to look at long-term solutions within the education process. One such solution may be to focus on improved mathematics instruction as early as preprimary school. However, children at this young age are not typically suited to formal teaching. Alternative methods of mathematics instruction must be considered for maximum and effective impact. The study was conducted to test the notion that not all early methods of mathematics instruction are equal. During the empirical research approximately 200 preprimary school children in three different socio-economic environments (urban higher SES, township and rural) were tested after experiencing a teacher-guided play-based mathematics teaching intervention, or after experiencing a worksheet-based or free-flow play-based curriculum. The test performance of the participants was primarily compared to find relations between teaching methods and early mathematics performance. The study found that a teacher-guided play-based curriculum is superior to other curriculums in the instruction of mathematics in all educational settings, regardless of socioeconomic background. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)