AVAILABILITY OF CONTENT AND PROCEDURES OF PLAY STRATEGIES FOR HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT IN PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

Virtually every child, the world over, plays. The drive to play is so intense that children will do so when they have no real toys, when parents do not actively encourage the behavior, and even in the middle of a war zone. In the eyes of a young child, running, pretending, and building are fun. Researchers and educators know that these playful activities benefit the development of the whole child across social, cognitive, physical, and emotional domains. Indeed, play is such an instrumental component to healthy child development that the American Academy of Pediatrics (Ginsburg, 2007) issued a white paper on the topic, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009) named play as a central component in developmentally appropriate educational practices, and the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (1989) recognized play as a fundamental right of every child.

Play may even be the cornerstone of society because it requires communication and cooperation among people playing different roles and following agreed-upon rules. Research has focused on how our leisure activities can be put to good use in education, business and medicine, and to improve the quality of life for children and adults (Goldstein, 2012). Developments in science and technology have broadened researcher views of play. The flourishing of ‘cognitive neuroscience’ (the study of the relationships between brain activity, thinking and acting) has led to new insights into the role of biology and the brain in play and toy preferences. The importance of play for mind and body has been well-documented (Goldstein, 2012).

Play presents children with a particularly strong opportunity for growth because it meets the needs of the whole, individual child. All domains of children’s development – cognitive, social, emotional, and physical –are intricately intertwined. Play benefits each of these skills in direct and indirect ways. Children learn and practice cognitive skills including language, problem solving, creativity, and self regulation. Socio-emotional growth can be seen in children’s ability to interact with others, negotiate, and compromise. They also practice strategies to cope with fear, anger, and frustration. Moreover, block building, drawing, running, and jumping all contribute to the development of fine and gross motor skills. When children have the chance to direct their own learning through play, they are able to address their own immediate and developmental needs and find activities that are most conducive to their individual learning styles. In play, children develop a lasting disposition to learn. Having control over the course of one’s own learning, as in free play, promotes desire, motivation, and mastery (Erikson, 1985; Hurwitz, 2003).

Some research just stops you in your tracks. They found that baby vervet monkeys display sex differences in play styles and toy preferences that mirror those of human children. So it is not only parents’ behavior and marketing that produce boys’ and girls’ different toy preferences. Hormones and genes also influence children’s play. It seems that males, human and nonhuman, are attracted to toys that move.

People play because it is fun. One of the many ways in which play is healthy is that it results in positive emotions, and these may promote long-term health in the early stage of the child. Even if it did not do this, play improves the quality of life children feel good while playing. Play has a major contribution to make in keeping a littler infant healthy (Geriannme, Teressa & Rebecca, 2009).Active play has the paradoxical effect of increasing attention span and improving the efficiency of thinking and problem solving. Two hours of active play per day may help reduce attention deficits and hyperactivity of the children in a formal setting. The most striking thing about hi-tech toys is that the technology does not in itself drive play. Some modern toys can interact with other toys, with iPads and computers, and can recognize your voice and learn your commands. Yet much of their potential is overlooked by players (Zlatka, 2011).  Many children play with these toys in traditional ways. In this they resemble adults who make limited use of their computer software, learning how to do what they want to do with their computers and ignoring the many features that are of less interest. Children also learn how to seek out knowledge; play involves exploration, hypothesis testing, and discovery. What is more, all this is done in a safe, anxiety- and risk-free environment where children are free to test the limits of their knowledge and abilities with relatively few repercussions (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003). They learn to have confidence in their ability to solve a problem, and they become resilient in the face of a challenge (Erikson, 1985; Hurwitz, 2003; Pepler & Ross, 1981). Play builds the foundation for a lifetime of learning.

In the Western world, nearly everyone believes that children benefit from free play. Research confirms that children’s self-initiated play nurtures overall development, not just cognitive development (such as learning to name colors, numbers or shapes). Abundant research has shown that play during early childhood is necessary if humans are to reach their full potential. Parents, teachers and government bodies all recognize the value of play (Peter,2011).Yet opportunities for play continue to diminish, with fewer play spaces, less freedom to roam outdoors, and decreasing school time for free play. The case for play is clear, now the question is what we do to ensure that children get the play they need and deserve. Due to the importance of play in aiding the development of children in their Holistic development. This study will add to the compendium of knowledge by investigating into the content and procedures of Play Strategies for Holistic Development in Pre-School Children.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Over the past few decades, researchers in the fields of education and child psychology have amassed significant evidence for the necessity of play in children’s lives. There is no denying that play is fun, and certainly fun is its biggest draw for children. However, as children play, they also develop critical cognitive, emotional, social, and physical skills. Play even contributes to proper brain development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). In this way, play is an important end in itself; it is also a means to other ends. The skills children learn through play in the early years set the stage for future learning and success from the kindergarten classroom to the workplace.

Yet, while experts continue to expound a powerful argument for the importance of play in children’s lives, the actual time children spend playing continues to decrease. Today, children play eight hours less each week than their counterparts did two decades ago (Elkind, 2008). Under pressure of rising academic standards, play is being replaced by test preparation in kindergartens and grade schools, and parents who aim to give their preschoolers a leg up are led to believe that flashcards and educational “toys” are the path to success. Our society has created a false dichotomy between play and learning.

Based on this discrepancy of thoughts this study intends to fill the gap by investigating the value of content and procedures of play strategies for Holistic Developments in Pre-School Children.

1.2  Objective of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the value of content and procedures of play strategies for Holistic Development in Pre-School Children. The specific objective includes

1.      To examine play strategies aid Pre-School Children Academic Development

2.      To investigate if play strategies improve the emotional and mental capacity of Pre-School Children

3.      To mirror out if play strategies stimulate teachers performance on Pre-School Children.

1.4 Research Question

The following research question include

1.      Does play strategies aid Pre-School Children Academic Development?

2.      What are the play strategies that improve emotional and mental capacity of Pre-School Children?

3.      Does play strategies stimulate teachers performance on Pre-School Children.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Hypothesis One

H0= Play strategies and Forms has no significant influence on Children Academic Development

H1= Play strategies and Forms has significant influence on Children Academic Development

Hypothesis Two

H0= Play strategies and Forms has no significant impact on Emotional and Mental Capacity of Children

H1= Play strategies and Forms has significant impact on Emotional and Mental Capacity of children.

Hypothesis Three

H0= Play strategies and Forms has no significant effect on Teacher Performance on Pre-School Children

H1= Play strategies and Forms has significant effect on Teachers Performance on Pre-School Children

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study would be relevant for the following stakeholders which include;

Teachers, Guardians and School Owners and Management.

Teachers will from the findings of the study, have the knowledge to implore on the method that will aid them on the strategies and forms of playing they will engage their children, so has to improve their academic development both within the formal settings and informal settings.

Guardians will from the findings of the study, know and employ the use of play in development modes of the children. The guardians will from the findings of the study have a balanced knowledge on the method of strategies of play that must be opened to their children in their infant stage in lives.

School Owners and Management will from the findings of the study have a policy inclination change to implore more the use of play in curriculum of children in the crèche and nursery school.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study will employ the descriptive survey design. The study will selects 10 nursery and primary school located in Victoria Island Environs. The study respondent will be teachers teaching the Pre-school student. The study will use the questionnaire and direct interview to collect the needful information from the respondent. The study will use the purposive sampling technique for the study. The study will use the frequency distribution for the sub-question and simple liners regression technique for the inferential statistics.