Children's learning through play at kindergarten : a case study

Abstract

The aims of the study were to investigate the value which Kindergarten assistants and parents attribute to play in a local Kindergarten centre; the extent to which the Kindergarten assistants promote learning through play while catering for the children's holistic development; and to find out whether the parents are involved by the Kindergarten centre in the children's learning. In the local context, it is a well known fact that children tend to be provided with formal teaching from as early an age as possible. In this case study, evidence was obtained to find out about the role of play in this Kindergarten centre. This study consisted of: individual interviews with the Head of school and all 10 Kindergarten assistants; 108 hours observations in 4 of the 10 groups; 141 questionnaires for the parent population who had children attending the centre; short interviews with a sample of 71 children. Results indicate that adults are aware of the importance of play for children. However, in practice, this was not always evident. The Head of school did not ensure that her expectations about play were actually taking place. The Kindergarten assistants did not plan activities before-hand and some of them even prepared the children formally for Year 1. The parents were rarely engaged in school activities, since the school did not inform them about events. The children mentioned different types of play they actually engaged in as well as activities they would have liked to experience. Not all activities were given the same importance.