Play Activities in Early Childhood Schools

Abstract

This study explores play activities in early childhood school. Play serves as an important process for promoting children’s learning and development besides enhancing the emotional, intellectual, and social skills of the child. It is the teacher’s role in early childhood development education to set up an environment that facilitates play experiences. The objectives of the study were: (a) to examine the availability of functional play facilities (b) establish the frequency of learners’ participation in Physical education as timetabled in Early childhood development education; (c) describe teachers’ approaches to teaching play activities; and (d) establish the challenges encountered in the teaching of play activities in Early childhood development education. The study was guided by the social interaction theory of Vygotsky (1978), as cited by Christie & Roskos (2009). A descriptive survey design was adopted. The target population was derived from 6 schools in Chibombo district of the central province of Zambia. The respondents were sampled through the use of stratified, simple random, and purposive sampling, and a sample size of 18 teachers and 6 head teachers was obtained. Questionnaires, observation, and interview schedules were used as instruments of data collection. The data obtained were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics which involved measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, and Pearson Correlation. The study findings indicated that Moomba and Jolly early childhood development education centers had inadequate playgrounds and Moomba and Jolly Schools are not provided with instructional materials required. Similarly, Moomba and Jolly use physical education time for other activities. Notwithstanding, teachers do not engage and participate with the children in the playfields. Teachers faced several challenges such as lack of adequate play facilitate in schools. The findings revealed that Moomba and Jolly early childhood development education centers suffer from inadequate playgrounds and lack of necessary instructional materials. Moreover, these centers often repurpose physical education time for other activities, and teachers do not actively engage with children in play activities. Consequently, several challenges, including insufficient play facilities and limited teacher involvement, were identified. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the government invest in the development and maintenance of playground facilities and ensure that physical education time is consistently allocated and utilized effectively. These measures are essential for enhancing the quality of play-based learning and supporting the holistic development of children.