The researcher investigated teachers’ use of group work play-based pedagogy to enhance core skills in young learners. The reason for this investigation was rooted in the teaching methods used by most Nigerian teachers. Most Nigerian teachers prefer to use the traditional learning approach (TLA); known as teacher-centred learning, in comparison to learner-centred pedagogy. According to the research, the learner-centred approach is a contributing factor to the development and enhancement of the acquisition of core skills among young learners. The study site identified was the eastern part of Nigeria. Nine participants were purposively sampled, who were responsible for teaching young learners between the ages of five to eight years. The researcher adopted the qualitative approach with an interpretive paradigm when employing a professional development programme through Participatory Action Research (PAR), observational schedule and field notes as tools for data collection. Findings from the study revealed that teachers do not understand what core skills are and how they should be developed in young learners. It was also found that teachers did not have sound knowledge of curriculum implementation and its impact on the development of core skills. Teachers also lacked the knowledge and understanding of the use of diverse group work play-based pedagogy in the early grade classes A recommendation was made for teachers to use group work play-based pedagogy to develop core skills among learners. It also recommended the provision of adequate continuous professional development training on group work play-based pedagogies to enhance and strengthen teachers’ knowledge and understanding. The study proposes the need for teachers to update their knowledge and understanding of curriculum policies on play-based pedagogy. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / pt2021 / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

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Over the past three years, there have been changes in learning observed due to COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions that affected young learners who needed support during instruction, raising concerns about their learning progress. As such, this qualitative phenomenological study explored and described the parent and teacher perspectives on the long-lasting impact of COVID-19 on kindergarten students who started formal education virtually during a pandemic. The central research question, "What are the teacher and parent perspectives on learning during the pandemic and their views on the impact of remote instruction on kindergarteners?" was examined from a constructivist and play-based learning theory. The study used purposeful and snowball sampling to obtain five teachers and four parents who virtually completed one-on-one 15- to 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed using Boije's constant comparative approach using three steps: (1) comparison within a single interview, (2) comparison between interviews within the same group, and (3) comparison of interviews from the two different groups. I used an inductive approach using axial coding to interpret results on themes that surfaced from within the participants' interviews. The study findings will benefit educators, school leaders, policymakers, and researchers interested in early childhood education. Limitations of the study include lack of generalizability, exclusive focus on the kindergarten level of study, and the use of previous literature conducted in different contexts and cultures to support the need for the study.

This research brings together two concepts that are often depicted as polar opposites. Sutton-Smith (2001) however suggests that the opposite of play is not work, but depression, and moreover echoes other scholars in reclaiming play as an essential human expression, even for adults. This study, therefore, argues that, given the precarious wellness territory our workplaces are in, something about work is not working. It is furthermore proposed that, given all the evidence of the therapeutic potential inherent to play, there is indeed something nutritious at play in play. Despite these well-supported arguments, play remains hidden away in the academic shadows of more serious industrial psychological preoccupations. Surprisingly, the same conspicuous absence is even mirrored in Positive Psychology, a bustling field that claims to celebrate glee, fun, and happiness (Seligman, 2002a). Entitled “An autoethnographic exploration of play at work,” this dissertation leans on the metaphor of “exploration”, or more specifically, exploratory play. This results in two distinct yet interwoven dimensions to the research study. Firstly, the research approaches the phenomenon of play and play-based methods in workshop contexts through the lived experience of the researcher. Secondly, the research project in itself is conceptualised as work, and the methodology of autoethnography is conceptualised as a playful approach to this work of conducting research. Aside from widening the research scope, this also appropriately matches research methodology to the research domain. Aside from being about play at work, this research also is play at work. Autoethnography, as a recent development in qualitative research, remains unconventional and somewhat controversial in the South African social sciences. Autoethnography, as an offspring of ethnography, offers a method to reflexively incorporate the researcher’s own lived experience in the study of culture as a primary source of rich phenomenological data. Instead of minimising the emotive and subjective, this research amplifies and celebrates it. Given a fair degree of unfamiliarity in terms of autoethnography as well the accusation of being overly self-centred, the experience of the researcher is then complemented by the views of a number of co-creators to the culture being studied. This is done through external data-gathering in the forms of a focus group as well as number of semistructured, dyadic interviews. While therefore leaning more toward postmodern themes, this research also incorporates what has been termed analytical autoethnography (Anderson, 2006), wherein the researcher is a full-member of the setting being studied, is portrayed as such and is committed to theoretical analysis. This study can therefore be summarised as an autoethnographic case study that balances evocative and analytical styles (Vryan, 2006) while emanating from the philosophical assumptions of interpretivism and subjectivism. Internal realities and meaning-creation are thus emphasised rather than the received views of positivism. The central research question being explored is how play and play-based methods promote work-related well-being. To answer this question, firstly, play and play-based methods are explored, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. From within workshop (pedagogical) contexts, the play-based methods considered throughout this study include metaphor and story, creative-arts-based play, physical-body play and also the uncelebrated yet essential methods of icebreakers and games. A preliminary taxonomy is proposed for play-based methods to offer description and to facilitate reflection and learning. Descriptive elements in this taxonomy include interactive vs. solitary, competitive vs. cooperative, motor-sensory vs. cognitive-mind, participative vs. vicarious and rule-bound vs. improvisational. Building on this exploration of play-based methods, the second aspect explored in more detail has to do with the more internal and subjective experiences of participants, or players, if you like. These experiences are then related to prominent concepts encountered in Positive Psychology to, by proxy, understand how they relate to work-related well-being. Significant themes that emerge from this include play as fun, play as mind-body integration, play as authenticity, play as community, and play as stress-relief and resilience. This is then woven into a creative non-fiction, in accord with a trend in qualitative research called creative analytical practices (CAP) (Richardson, 2000). This creative non-fiction, detailed in Chapter 4, forms a key autoethnographic output that animates all these themes in a way that is accessible, evocative and playful. Chapter 5 complements this chapter with an in-depth exploration of the research journey as a confessional tale. While adopting the metaphor of hiking in mountains (exploring nature), this confessional tale clarifies the research process and incorporates an in-depth analysis of the themes, both in terms of research data as well as literature. This is supported by a number of separate appendixes, including interview transcripts, depictions of the interview analysis as well as a number of photos from the field. In terms of its uniqueness and unconventionality, this research joins in the choir of related work to incorporate more contemporary research genres into the social sciences in South Africa. By doing so, it opens up doors to phenomena that simply resist being studied with the ontological and epistemological assumptions of conventional modern science. Furthermore, the effect and impact of this research is that it provides accessible and practical ideas as to how a synthesis of play and work can help us renew and rejuvenate our work and workplaces. That is, how we can come alive in the work contexts that risk becoming sterile, clinical and inhuman in the wake of Taylorist reductionism and efficiency. Given that state of work and workplace, and the productive and therapeutic potential in play, indeed, we are too busy not to play. / Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

This research brings together two concepts that are often depicted as polar opposites. Sutton-Smith (2001) however suggests that the opposite of play is not work, but depression, and moreover echoes other scholars in reclaiming play as an essential human expression, even for adults. This study, therefore, argues that, given the precarious wellness territory our workplaces are in, something about work is not working. It is furthermore proposed that, given all the evidence of the therapeutic potential inherent to play, there is indeed something nutritious at play in play. Despite these well-supported arguments, play remains hidden away in the academic shadows of more serious industrial psychological preoccupations. Surprisingly, the same conspicuous absence is even mirrored in Positive Psychology, a bustling field that claims to celebrate glee, fun, and happiness (Seligman, 2002a). Entitled “An autoethnographic exploration of play at work,” this dissertation leans on the metaphor of “exploration”, or more specifically, exploratory play. This results in two distinct yet interwoven dimensions to the research study. Firstly, the research approaches the phenomenon of play and play-based methods in workshop contexts through the lived experience of the researcher. Secondly, the research project in itself is conceptualised as work, and the methodology of autoethnography is conceptualised as a playful approach to this work of conducting research. Aside from widening the research scope, this also appropriately matches research methodology to the research domain. Aside from being about play at work, this research also is play at work. Autoethnography, as a recent development in qualitative research, remains unconventional and somewhat controversial in the South African social sciences. Autoethnography, as an offspring of ethnography, offers a method to reflexively incorporate the researcher’s own lived experience in the study of culture as a primary source of rich phenomenological data. Instead of minimising the emotive and subjective, this research amplifies and celebrates it. Given a fair degree of unfamiliarity in terms of autoethnography as well the accusation of being overly self-centred, the experience of the researcher is then complemented by the views of a number of co-creators to the culture being studied. This is done through external data-gathering in the forms of a focus group as well as number of semistructured, dyadic interviews. While therefore leaning more toward postmodern themes, this research also incorporates what has been termed analytical autoethnography (Anderson, 2006), wherein the researcher is a full-member of the setting being studied, is portrayed as such and is committed to theoretical analysis. This study can therefore be summarised as an autoethnographic case study that balances evocative and analytical styles (Vryan, 2006) while emanating from the philosophical assumptions of interpretivism and subjectivism. Internal realities and meaning-creation are thus emphasised rather than the received views of positivism. The central research question being explored is how play and play-based methods promote work-related well-being. To answer this question, firstly, play and play-based methods are explored, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. From within workshop (pedagogical) contexts, the play-based methods considered throughout this study include metaphor and story, creative-arts-based play, physical-body play and also the uncelebrated yet essential methods of icebreakers and games. A preliminary taxonomy is proposed for play-based methods to offer description and to facilitate reflection and learning. Descriptive elements in this taxonomy include interactive vs. solitary, competitive vs. cooperative, motor-sensory vs. cognitive-mind, participative vs. vicarious and rule-bound vs. improvisational. Building on this exploration of play-based methods, the second aspect explored in more detail has to do with the more internal and subjective experiences of participants, or players, if you like. These experiences are then related to prominent concepts encountered in Positive Psychology to, by proxy, understand how they relate to work-related well-being. Significant themes that emerge from this include play as fun, play as mind-body integration, play as authenticity, play as community, and play as stress-relief and resilience. This is then woven into a creative non-fiction, in accord with a trend in qualitative research called creative analytical practices (CAP) (Richardson, 2000). This creative non-fiction, detailed in Chapter 4, forms a key autoethnographic output that animates all these themes in a way that is accessible, evocative and playful. Chapter 5 complements this chapter with an in-depth exploration of the research journey as a confessional tale. While adopting the metaphor of hiking in mountains (exploring nature), this confessional tale clarifies the research process and incorporates an in-depth analysis of the themes, both in terms of research data as well as literature. This is supported by a number of separate appendixes, including interview transcripts, depictions of the interview analysis as well as a number of photos from the field. In terms of its uniqueness and unconventionality, this research joins in the choir of related work to incorporate more contemporary research genres into the social sciences in South Africa. By doing so, it opens up doors to phenomena that simply resist being studied with the ontological and epistemological assumptions of conventional modern science. Furthermore, the effect and impact of this research is that it provides accessible and practical ideas as to how a synthesis of play and work can help us renew and rejuvenate our work and workplaces. That is, how we can come alive in the work contexts that risk becoming sterile, clinical and inhuman in the wake of Taylorist reductionism and efficiency. Given that state of work and workplace, and the productive and therapeutic potential in play, indeed, we are too busy not to play. / Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

209 f. / Submitted by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes (silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-08-23T19:38:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Lucia da E. Bacelar.pdf: 1297070 bytes, checksum: a6eba1aa3edf3778571f5895969ecf40 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes(silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-09-17T16:03:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Lucia da E. Bacelar.pdf: 1297070 bytes, checksum: a6eba1aa3edf3778571f5895969ecf40 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-17T16:03:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Lucia da E. Bacelar.pdf: 1297070 bytes, checksum: a6eba1aa3edf3778571f5895969ecf40 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / A pesquisa tem por objeto de estudo a formação de professor de Educação Infantil, considerando as relações entre ludicidade, história de vida e formação profissional no curso de Pedagogia. Teve uma abordagem qualitativa e o método autobiográfico. As técnicas utilizadas foram a de análise documental, entrevista semiestruturada e memorial. Os sujeitos da pesquisa tiveram sua formação na Universidade Federal da Bahia e exercem a docência como professores na Educação Infantil. O objetivo geral da pesquisa é compreender como se fez presente (ou não) a dimensão lúdica na história de vida de professores da Educação Infantil, incluindo a sua formação inicial no curso de Pedagogia, e suas implicações sobre o processo de sua profissionalidade. Os objetivos específicos visam: identificar como o egresso de Pedagogia avalia os conhecimentos construídos ao longo da sua formação para atuar na EI; analisar que dificuldades experimentaram ao assumir a sala de aula como docentes da EI; identificar nas suas histórias de vida fatos /experiências/ acontecimentos/ sentimentos que expressem a presença da dimensão lúdica e suas contribuições para a ação enquanto professora de EI. Os resultados apontaram que a ludicidade está presente história de vida das professoras de Educação Infantil que participaram dessa pesquisa e que no seu curso de formação inicial, esteve presente de forma limitada. Isso teve repercussões no início da carreira que possivelmente seriam evitadas se tal vivência, advinda inclusive das práticas dos estágios, acontecessem desde o início do curso. / Salvador

The purpose of this study is to highlight preschool teacher students' descriptions of using aesthetic qualities as a strategy in play-based teaching with preschool children. Of interest to the study are the drama tools that are actualized in the implementation and those that address the children's initiatives in the process. The students' play-based teaching is also examined in terms of its didactic potential. The research questions focus on the aesthetic strategies actualized in the preschool teacher students' descriptions of implementing play-based teaching with preschool children. Furthermore, how children's initiatives are actualized based on selected aesthetic strategies and what didactic potential the aesthetic strategies used by the preschool teacher students have in play-based teaching with preschool children.  The study adopts a qualitative approach, and interviews are used for data collection. For the analysis of the material, involving four preschool teacher students as informants, a qualitative content analysis is employed. The theoretical concepts of drama, including pre-text, role-taking, dramatic structure, dramatic tension, and interaction (Hallgren, 2018), are used as theoretical foundations. Furthermore, Lindström's (2012, 2015) four aesthetic learning forms, along with their associated leadership styles, are used to analyze the study's results.  The results of the study show that the preschool teacher students' play-based teaching actualized aesthetic strategies such as body language and empathy, narrative, embodiment, and role-taking initiatives, as well as dramatic tension. In many ways, these strategies contributed to creating space for children's initiatives. The ways in which the children in the described teaching situations were challenged in their play skills demonstrate that the use of aesthetic strategies can represent a didactic potential. The results contribute to highlighting aesthetic strategies in combination with targeted questions of a curious and wondering nature as important tools in the play-based teaching of preschool teacher students.

The introduction of the Foundation Phase gave a unique opportunity to study the interpretation and delivery of a play-based early childhood curriculum. This new curriculum saw the disappearance of Physical Education for pupils under the age of seven in Wales. Physical Education is acknowledged as more than the development of physical competence, being part of a process concerned with lifelong physical, intellectual, social and emotional learning accrued through a range of physical activities, in a variety of contexts (Doherty and Brennan, 2008). As such a goal of Physical Education is physical literacy, (Hardman, 2011; Talbot, 2007). In light of this, this research set out to explore the contribution of the Foundation Phase to the development of children’s physical literacy. In order to achieve this, a three-phase complementarity mixed-methods design (Greene et al., 1989) was used to generate data over two years in selected schools in Wales. The schools were found to be enacting the Foundation Phase with fidelity to the original aims of the policy makers by demonstrating the key features of play-based active learning, focused adult-led sessions, child-initiated learning, and use of the outdoors for learning. In so doing they were deemed to be successful in achieving the aim of the Foundation Phase of developing independent, motivated active learners. The Foundation Phase was also found to be supporting the development of children’s cognitive development with good levels of achievement in literacy and numeracy assessments. The playful pedagogy observed in the schools enabled the pupils to have autonomy in their learning. Pupils were motivated, active and engaged in embodied learning both indoors and outdoors. The findings indicated that the Foundation Phase was making a positive contribution to the development of children’s physical literacy.