abigail emblen 1132592 wrl report
TRANSCRIPT
School of Health & Enterprise
Assignment Cover Sheet
Course Code and Year:L540 2015
Course TitleFdA Social Care
Student Name:Abigail Emblen
Module Title and Code:Work Related Learning
Student Number:1132592
Lecturer:Cath Manley
Assignment title/no:Students are required to produce a report (4,000 words), which details an issue in the vocational area of social care. This will consist of one piece of primary research.
Word count:3,915
I declare that the work contained in this submission is my own work, and has not been taken from the work of others, save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of this submission.
Signature: A.Emblen Date: 29 th April 2015 _
Notes: 1. Declaration must be signed and dated. Assignment will not be
considered otherwise.2. A Turnitin receipt must be attached to the submission. Assignment will
not be considered otherwise.3. All assignments should be deposited in the Assignments box unless
the lecturer explicitly gives you other instructions.
Abigail Emblen 1132592 1
Students are required to produce a report, which details an issue in the
vocational area of social care. This will consist of
one piece of primary research.
Abigail Emblen
1132592
Abigail Emblen 1132592 2
Research into the types of play to assist the development of skills for children aged 2-5, within an educational setting.
Abigail Emblen
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AbstractThis research project analyses which type of play is best to help children,
ages 2-5, develop their skills. Investigations into what types of play are
available to children to help develop these skills and how the various types of
play help children to develop will be held. A consideration of current literature,
which discusses how learning through play can help a child, which skills are
being developed through play, five different ways of play and the different
types of play. Common themes from interviews will be identified and
discussed, as well as analysing them against current literature, which will then
suggest areas of recommendations, thus leading onto a reflection and
conclusion of the whole research project.
Key words:Children
Play
Develop
Skills
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Contents
1 Introduction...............................................................................................52 Literature Review......................................................................................6
2.1 Learning through play......................................................................................6
2.2 Development of skills through play..................................................................7
2.3 Five ways of play.............................................................................................7
2.4 Types of play...................................................................................................8
3 Research methods....................................................................................93.1 Common themes.............................................................................................9
3.2 Interviews........................................................................................................9
4 Findings and Discussion.......................................................................124.1 What do you understand as ‘learn through play’?.........................................12
4.2 Do you think using play to aid learn is both effective and beneficial to the
children and why?..................................................................................................12
4.3 What would you say is the best type of play to facilitate learning?...............13
4.4 Based on your experience, what are the top 3 benefits for learning through
play and why?........................................................................................................14
4.5 What core skill is best taught through play and why?...................................14
4.6 What types of play are available to the children in your setting and why?....15
4.7 Aside of the desired learning’s, what other skills do children learn through
play?17
4.8 Would you like to see the use of play to aid learning to be extended, thus
continuing to be used in other year groups?..........................................................18
5 Conclusion..............................................................................................196 Recommendations..................................................................................197 Reflections..............................................................................................208 References..............................................................................................219 Bibliography............................................................................................2210 Appendix.................................................................................................23
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1 IntroductionThis work-based learning research project is based in an educational setting
in the North East of England, in a small village called Belford. The research
project was an investigation into which types of play help and assist the
development of children who are between the ages of 2 and 5; the reason for
this is that, at this early age children develop at a high pace therefore,
development at this age is key to setting a strong foundation for future
development. Furthermore, this was the age of the children attending the
class in which the research project was carried out.
It can be argued that learning through play is beneficial to children at such a
young age and should be encouraged to help the children develop important
skills that will be useful throughout their life.
Pre-School Learning Alliance (2010) states that play helps young children to
develop their physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills through talking
and doing. By developing these skills, children are learning through play.
There are many different ways a child can play and there are many different
types of play in which a child can be involved with. Both will be detailed further
by Lindon (2001), Bruce (2011), Early Years Matters (no date), Minett (2010)
and Meggit et al. (2012); as well as incorporation by Harding (2013) and
Durant (2009) who will be included to develop their points.
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2 Literature Review2.1 Learning through play
Lindon (2001) states that the play is defined as a range of activities, which a
child embarks on for their own enjoyment and interest. Lindon (2001) also
states that dating back to 300 BC, children played with objects such as dolls,
wheeled and mechanical toys, rattles, toy soldiers, toy horses, jigsaw and
games. This is build upon further as Bruce (2011) suggests that even from a
young age such as infancy, it is essential that babies spend time with
individuals who will encourage and support their play; either with other
individuals or other objects.
Early Years Matters (no date) declares that introducing a playful method to
learning can help build upon a child’s interests, which can allow them to
respond to ideas of play in that certain interest, which allows scope for
organised activities to teach specific skills and knowledge based on that
certain interest a child has.
Minett (2010) states that play is an important part of a child’s education
because they learn during playing, which can encourage socialisation which is
important for a child because they will start to learn not just from adults, but
each other.
Following on, Minett (2010) outlines further that children need to have the
opportunity to have the decision of playing on their own or with other children.
When children play by them selves without being distracted or any
interference going on, they will then learn the skill of amusing them selves;
this is so they don’t get bored easily or feel miserable when left on their own
to play alone (Minett, 2010).
The above is supported by Bruce (2011) who suggested that children show
their highest level of intelligence during play. This is because play allows more
opportunities in thinking and progresses the emotional intelligence, which
assists the sense of self and relationships with others to intensify (Bruce,
2011).
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2.2 Development of skills through play
Meggit et al. (2012) concludes that for learning, play is a great part of this, as
it opens up new possibilities for children to reflect and apply their ideas and
imagination, relationships and feelings, to be coordinated, ensuring that they
are capable of adaptable thinking, to acquire a sense of wonder and to be
ethically thoughtful.
Early Years Matters (no date) states that play supports the Early Years
Foundation Stage, which is a statutory framework that should be followed and
met to help each child’s development up to the age of five (Government UK,
2015). Children develop their language skills, emotions, creativity skills, social
skills and intellectual skills, through play (Early Years Matters, no date).
Early Years Matters (no date) explains that for children between the age of
three and five, when children play, they learn at a high level. Play can extend
various areas of learning; such as language skills as children can
communication with each other during play by talking to each other (Early
Years Matters, no date) or begin to use new vocabulary during pretend play
which can broaden their language when using uncommon words that they
hear each and every day (Lindon, 2001).
2.3 Five ways of play
Meggit et al. (2012), Lindon (2001), Harding (2013) and Minett (2012) all state
that there are five different ways a child can play. The first is solitary play,
which is where children are occupied playing on their own, without the
participation of others (Meggit et al., 2012). The second is spectator play,
which is where children watch other children playing, some children may try to
join in but others enjoy inspecting (Lindon, 2001). The third is parallel play,
which is where children play alongside each other doing different activities,
but with little or no social interaction (Harding, 2013). The fourth is associate
play, which is where children play next to each other doing the same activity,
but do not interact with one another; they just happily get on with what they
are doing, unaware and regardless of the other child being their (Meggit et al.
2012). The fifth is co-operative social play, which is where children play and
interact with one another, sharing toys and talking (Minett, 2012).
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2.4 Types of play
Both Minett (2010) and Lindon (2001) believe that there are many different
types of play in which a chid can be involved in. Early Years Matters (no date)
add to this as they proclaim that play can take place in either indoor or
outdoor and in these environments children can explore and discover the
world that they live in.
Physical play uses skills in creative ways for enjoyment during early childhood
(Lindon, 2001). Minett (2010) justifies that physical play is when the child is
actively moving around; this could be outdoors playing with a ball.
Discovery play uses physical skills and the five different senses to learn about
different materials such as what things feel like and what shape things are
(Lindon, 2001).
Creative play helps a child to express their own feelings and ideas (Minett,
2010) when using different material such as sand, paint and dough (Meggit et
al. 2012).
Outdoor play encourages children to become more independent in their
learning, encourages children to become more social with one another, helps
children grow in confidence and self-esteem, promotes physical activity and
urges the child to become a risk taker (Durant, 2009).
Role-play and imaginative play inspires children to explore daily actions such
as cleaning and cooking (Lindon, 2001). It is where children use their own
experiences to play with other children, such as going to the shops or playing
doctors and nurses (Meggit et al. 2012).
Social play is when children actively play together (Minett, 2010); this could be
during role-play such as mum and child or physical play such as playing on
the slide (Lindon, 2001). In order for social play to be present, the children
have to be interacting and communicating with each other during their chosen
activity (Lindon, 2001). Children can develop friendships during social play, as
one child can have a similar interest with another child, therefore, these two
children may play together socially, based on their similarities in an interest.
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Research methodsThe main body of the research project is a collection of structured interviews
and the analysis of current literature, based on the topic of skills developed
through play.
2.5 Common themes
The first stage of the study was to identify common themes within the area of
skills developed through play. Published texts either online or in print were the
first place where the search was conducted. Key words were required to
conduct the search, thus giving the nature of the project, the key words that
were chosen were ‘skills developed through play’. An initial search was
carried out in the Newcastle College library and online, searching for different
texts, which included information on play and the skills developed. This
produced another key term, ‘children’; this is because children aged 2-5 were
who the project was based on. The results of the search provided a number of
different key texts, which will be analysed in order to form the literature review
to show the common themes that were identified.
2.6 Interviews
Swetnam (2000) states that interviews are a way of collecting data that can be
used on its own, which enables different responses from different participants
to be compared against one another. Where as Carey (2012) states that
interviews are an efficient form of research in order to collect information, as
they are convenient, uncomplicated and effective because they are able to
collect a reasonable amount of data within a period of time. Interviews allow
participants to voice their own opinions, feelings and thoughts about a certain
topic, without it being misread as something else (Carey, 2012).
Interviews produce qualitative data (Woods, 2006) as they find out different
opinions from different individuals, and start to understand their motives and
feelings by direct interaction with someone (University of Surrey, 2010).
Swetnam (2000) states that structured interviews use pre-designed questions,
which enables responses from different participants to be compared. The
questions are asked within a specific order and there will be no straying from
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the interview (McLeod, 2014a). This was the reason for which interviews were
conducted for the research project were structured, because a comparison on
different participants responses was needed in order to find common themes,
which can be compared to current literature and no straying from the interview
was wanted.
Open-ended questions were used during the interviews because they allow
the participants to respond with a variety of different responses (Swetnam,
2000) and it allowed the participants to respond with their own opinions and
not something that they were led too. Open-ended questions allow a more
qualitative response from the participant, but are harder to analyse and form
comparisons from (McLeod, 2014b).
Interviews were used when researching the project because an expert opinion
was desired, to compare with current literature, so professionals were
interviewed to get their expert thoughts and feelings about play. Carey (2012)
states that interviews identify the participant as an expert who is best to
explain their experiences and knowledge. Interviews also collect sufficient
data to support objectives of a study (Carey, 2012), which is why they were
used for the research project, in order to collect the correct data that was
needed to support the research project and be compared to current literature
and other responses of participants of the interview.
Participants interviewed for the project have a variety of years experience
working within an educational setting and with children themselves; therefore
it was good to interview different individuals who have different backgrounds
working with children. One participant had been working with children for a
number of years, whilst the other two have only been working with children for
only a couple of years. All participants have children of different ages so they
have broad skill of being a parent, which can also allow the researcher to get
a personal view as well as a professional view.
Ethics were considered before interviews were carried out, which was
provided within a research ethics proposal form (appendix.A) that was
approved with no amendments needed. This ethics proposal form provided
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formal rules of how the research project was going to be carried out and who
would be involved. The ethics proposal form (appendix.A) shows honest
actions that were taken during the project and an honest response of who was
involved, which was professionals working with the children. The ethics from
provided knowledge into the consideration of any potential physical or
psychological risks of either the researcher or participants taking part.
Data protection was considered throughout the project as mentioned within
the ethics proposal form (appendix.A), consent from participants was needed
prior to their involvement. This meant that a signature was given be all
participants, which meant that they gave their consent to be involved in the
project; only three participants gave me their consent, so only three
participants were involved instead of the desired four, which is shown in the
ethics proposal form in appendix.A. For confidentially reasons, an example of
the information and consent form that was given to participants is shown in
appendix.B, which is unsigned so to no break any data protection legalities or
to violate confidentiality.
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3 Findings and Discussion3.1 What do you understand as ‘learn through play’?
The first question in the interview was regarding the participants
understanding of ‘learning through play’. This was asked as Lindon (2001)
had a clear definition of what play was, and Bruce (2011), Minett (2012) and
Early Years Matters (no date) had varying views on what they understood
what learn through play was and a professional opinion was desired.
Learning through play has many different definitions as different individuals
have a variety of opinions. All opinions are based on the same level that play
can help a child to learn, but all with a different aspect or wavelength. This
point can be further illustrated by the responses in interviews by each
participant (appendix.C, D and E).
Participant 01: “Play helps children to learn and develop in all areas of
development.”
Participant 02: “Learning through play is how children learning from the
world around them. It is the adult’s role to challenge the mind and
scaffold the learning from where they are.”
Participant 03: “Children learn best from playing, ensuring many
learning opportunities and resources are available.”
3.2 Do you think using play to aid learn is both effective and beneficial to the
children and why?
Minett (2010) believes that for a child’s education, play is important because
children learn during play. Early Years Matters (no date) believes that have
organised activities which are based on the interests of children can introduce
learning as a playing method because they will be more responsive. Using
play to aid learning is beneficial to children as it helps children develop skills
such as physical, emotional, social and intellectual through actively doing
something or communicating with another child or adult (Pre-School Learning
Alliance, 2010).
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It would seem that from the responses from the interviews, professionals
agree with Minett (2010), Early Years Matters (no date) and Pre-School
Learning Alliance (2010).
Participant 01: “Children are more engaged and interested. They do not
realised they are learning. More often it is something they are have to do
or are interested in.”
Participant 02: “Play can engage children’s learning and then the adult’s
job is to scaffold their learning and interests. If a child is interested in the
play then their learning can move on.”
Participant 03: “I have seen the children who are progression at a steady
pace; all of this through play.”
3.3 What would you say is the best type of play to facilitate learning?
Meggit et al. (2012) believes that play opens up new opportunities for children
to reflect and apply their ideas. Play builds up relationships and feelings,
coordination, adaptable thinking and acquiring a sense of wonder (Meggit et
al. 2012). Responses from interviews show that each participant has a
different view on which type of play is best to facilitate learning.
Participant 01: “Imaginative play: children can be who or whatever they
want and practitioners can scaffold to cover all areas of the EYFS.”
Participant 02: “Outdoor learning can be a great distraction from a busy
classroom and take the stress of sitting for long periods on a carpet or
at a table. Active movement learning is more effective in my opinion.”
Whilst the participants state that there are different ways to facilitate learning,
many of the outcomes are the same regardless of facilitation techniques and
the skills that are developed through play for children are language, emotions,
creation, social and intellection (Early Years Matters, no date). Government
UK (2015) state that supporting play through the Early Years Foundation
Stage will help meet each child’s development, up to the age of five.
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3.4 Based on your experience, what are the top 3 benefits for learning
through play and why?
This question was asked to participants to find out what the different opinions
of the participants of what their top 3 benefits of learning through play was,
based on their experience. As stated earlier within the research methods, all
three participants have a variety of time based experience working with
children, hence the reasoning for asking this question based on their
experience. As all participants have had different experiences when working
with children, all three responses are differ from each other, with either one or
two benefits being similar.
This highlights that the perceived most beneficial aspects of learning through
play are the high level of engagement due to the children finding the
engagement interesting and enjoyable.
3.5 What core skill is best taught through play and why?
Early Years Matters (no date) state that language skills are learnt through play
as children communication by talking with each other during play. Bruce
(2011) states that play opens up more possibilities in thinking and emotional
intelligence starts to progress. This helps the sense of self and relationships
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Participant 01: “1) Different play styles cover all areas of learning
(Bob Hughes’ typology of play)
2) Covers all areas of EYFS
3) Follows children’s interests, it’s fun”
Participant 02: “1) Children are more engaged
2) Playful activities have positive effects on the brain
and learning is processed at a better rate
3) Physical impact on bodies”
Participant 03: “1) Children learn through their choice of play
2) Develop social skills such as concentration
3) Develops their language through talking to adults or
peers”
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with other to increase. Play can help young children to develop their physical,
social, emotional and intellectual skills through talking and doing, stated by
Pre-School Learning Alliance (2010).
Within the literature review and initial search, there wasn’t a right or wrong
answer for this question as it is based on opinions, not fact. Through play,
children develop many different skills, all equally important to help the child to
grow and prosper and develop into an older child, then adolescent, then adult
and then older adult.
All three participants have different opinions into which core a skill is best
taught through play.
Participant 01: “Play teaches children to relax, develop social skills,
concentration, co-operation, imagination and self-expression.”
Participant 02: “Social and cognitive development is the best skill
taught through play. Children have more things they need to learn.
Communication skills, negotiation, language are skills that are learned
in early life are used right through and without them life can be hard.
Think of autistic children.”
Participant 03: “Language and communication: children communicate
in many different ways while playing with children or adults. They copy
others which helps to build their language and communication skills.”
This suggests that there maybe great differences in relation to which is the
best core skill to be taught through play, and it could be alluded to that this is
down to an individual learning style.
3.6 What types of play are available to the children in your setting and why?
All educational settings have similar types of play available to the children in
order to meet the statutory framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage
(Government UK, 2015). As stated in the literature review, in the section
about types of play, there are a variety of different plays, which can be
available within educational settings.
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All types of play help develop one or more different types of skills for children.
In some cases, play helps develop one specific skill and in other cases, play
assists developing a range of skills in children. All children have the
opportunity to make their own decision of playing on their own or with other
children (Minett, 2010).
This question was asked because, even though all participants are from the
same setting, all three will have different views on what types of play are
available. With the participant with the greater experience, more types of play
may be identified because of their greater experience working within the
setting.
Participant 01: “Creative, small world, imaginative, exploration, indoor
and outdoor, physical, communication, dough, shapes and numbers,
stories, singing and social play.”
Participant 02: “We encourage play through exploration, sensory,
imagination, investigation and physical.”
Meggit et al. (2012), Lindon (2001), Harding (2013) and Minett (2012)
described five different ways a child can play. These are solitary play,
spectator play, parallel play, associate play and co-operative play. Within the
responses from the interviews, only one participant explained these five ways
of play, which is available to the children within the setting.
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Participant 03: “Role-play: opportunity to express them selves, find
out about own feelings, as well as peers.
Experimental play: children ask questions to develop
their knowledge, can play on own or in group, explore
different materials for example, in water tray or cutting
and gluing materials.
Outdoor play.”
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3.7 Aside of the desired learning’s, what other skills do children learn
through play?
Lindon (2001) states that physical play uses skills in creative ways for
enjoyment during early childhood. Lindon (2001) also states that discovery
play uses physical skills and the five different senses to learn about different
materials. Minett (2010) states that creative play helps children to express
their own feelings and ideas.
Durant (2009) states that outdoor play encourages children to become more
independent in their learning and encourages children to become more social
with one another. It helps children grow in confidence and self-esteem and
urges the child to become a risk taker (Durant, 2009).
Role-play and imaginative play inspires children to explore daily actions such
as cleaning and cooking (Lindon, 2001). Minett (2010) states that social play
is when children actively play together. Lindon (2001) states that social play
helps children interact and communicate with other children and adults.
Pre-School Learning Alliance (2010) states that play can help to develop the
physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills of young children.
Again, all three participants have varied thoughts and opinions about this
subject.
Participant 01: :Concentration, co-operation, sharing, imagination, self-
regulation, self-expression, emotions, numeracy, experimenting,
values, cognitive skills, thinking skills, problem solving, language,
literacy, social skills, creativity and knowledge of the world.:
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Participant 02: “All children show signs of:
Solitary play – limited interaction
Spectator play – watch others but not play with them
Parallel play – alongside but not playing together
Associate play – starts to interact and develop
preferences to friendships
Co-operative play – plays and shares ideas”
17
Participant 02: “Emotional, social, language, physical and cognitive or
intellectual.”
Participant 03: “They learn to take turns, understand the world around
them and understand that everyone is different, and no two people are
the same; for example, what they like, another children may not like.”
3.8 Would you like to see the use of play to aid learning to be extended, thus
continuing to be used in other year groups?
This question was asked to see the professionals opinions to find out whether
they think that play to aid learning should be extended into other year groups
after the children leave year one.
Participant 01: “I’m a great believer in the Danish Philosophy where
children don’t start school till the age of 7, however do better in
assessments.”
Participant 02: “Yes, as when children are engaged, its been proved
they learn more effectively.”
As shown, both participants agree that play should be extended into other
year groups. Participant 02’s response shows signs of believing that as even
though the child grows older, they are still able to keep developing their skills
by learn, thus improving their learning all the time.
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4 ConclusionTo conclude this research project, a research has gone into investigate the
types of play to assist the development of skills for children aged 2-5, within
an educational setting. It has shown that there are a variety of different skills
that are being developed through the act of play such as physical, emotional,
social and cognitive. It has been discussed and proven that children do learn
through play, many of which are different types such as physical, imaginative,
creative, outdoors and discovery.
Common themes from interviews conducted with professionals working in
childcare educational setting, agree with the current literature that has been
written on learning through play. All childcare educational settings have a
variety of different types of play available to the children, which assists
children develop their social skills, communication and language and physical
skills.
This research has shown that participants who took part in conducting an
interview, believe that the use of play to aid learning should be continued onto
other year groups for children over the age of five. Both participants believe
that children who are engaged, learn more effectively (appendix.C and D), so
extending the use of play to aid learning will engage the older children, thus
improving their learning, thus them developing their skills learnt during play,
even further.
5 RecommendationsBased on the findings from the interviews and what current literature is
explaining, play should be encouraged within the classroom setting as it has
an impact on each and every child as it helps them develop skills that are
important throughout their life, such as communication and language and
social skills.
From this, in the setting that this research project was based, more learning
through outdoor play should be encouraged as it helps children to become
physically healthy running around and getting fresh air. Having outdoor toys
such as bikes and scooters can have a large impact on children as it helps
Abigail Emblen 1132592 19
their physical development by increasing their sense of balance and it uses
the muscles in their legs, which can help to increase the strength in them so
as not to fall over.
Another recommendation for the childcare educational setting that this
research project is based on, is continuing play into other year groups for
children over the age of five, as shown that two participants both agree that
this could help the older children to continue to develop their skills throughout
their education, through the act of play.
6 ReflectionsTo reflect on this research project as a whole, a more broadened literature
review could have been done, using more academic texts. This would have
been done if the word count were larger. Having a more broadened literature
review would result in a more broadened interview with more questions,
resulting in more opinions and thoughts to be compared against literature.
Having a larger amount of professionals to complete the interviews would
have had an effect on this project as it would give a more varied response if a
participant from a higher position within childcare was asked, as they would
give a more professional and complex response to each question.
The only minor problem that occurred was that one participant who was asked
to complete an interview didn’t give their consent so could not be used as a
participant, so instead of the desired four participants, there were only three.
This gave a less varied response to each question and less vague. When the
participant did not give their consent, another professional working within the
chosen childcare educational setting should have been asked so the desired
four participants would have been used.
Abigail Emblen 1132592 20
7 ReferencesBruce, T. (2011) Learning Through Play. 2nd edn. London: Hodder Education.
Carey, M. (2012) Qualitative research skills for social work: theory and
practice. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Durant, S. (2009) Outdoor Play. London: Practical Pre-School.
Early Years Matters (no date) Play and Learning. Available at:
http://earlyyearsmatters.co.uk/index.php/eyfs/a-unique-child/play-learning/
(Accessed: 27th April 2015).
Government UK (2015) Childcare and early education. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-the-quality-and-range-of-
education-and-childcare-from-birth-to-5-years/supporting-pages/early-years-
foundation-stage (Accessed: 28th April 2015).
Harding, J. (2013) Child Development: An Illustrated Handbook. London:
Hodder Education.
Lindon, J. (2001) Understanding Children’s Play. Cheltenham: Nelson
Thornes Ltd.
McLeod, S. (2014a) The Interview Method. Available at:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/interviews.html (Accessed: 28th April 2015).
McLeod, S. (2014b) Questionnaires. Available at:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/questionnaires.html (Accessed: 28th April
2015).
Meggit, C., Bruce, T. and Grenier, J. (2012) Child Care and Education. 2nd
edn. London: Hodder Education.
Minett, P. (2010) Child Care and Development. 6th edn. London: Hodder
Education.
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Pre-School Learning Alliance (2010) Learning through play. Available at:
https://www.pre-school.org.uk/parents/support-advice/420/learning-through-
play (Accessed: 27th April 2015).
Swetnam, D. (2000) Writing your Dissertation. 3rd edn. Oxford: How To
Books Ltd.
University of Surrey (2010) Methods of collecting qualitative data. Available at:
http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/Introduction%20to%20Research
%20and%20Managing%20Information%20Leicester/page_54.htm (Accessed:
28th April 2015).
Woods, P. (2006) Qualitative research. Available at:
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/qualitative%20methods%202/qualrsh
m.htm (Accessed: 28th April 2015).
8 BibliographyBrooker, L. and Edwards, S. (2010) Engaging Play. Berkshire, England: Open
University Press.
Scarlett, W. G. (2004) Children’s Play. California: SAGE Publications.
Tucker, K. (2010) Mathmatics Through Play in the Early Years. 2nd edn.
London: SAGE Publications.
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9 Appendix
Appendix.A: Research Ethics Approval Form
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Abigail Emblen 1132592 24
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Appendix.B: Example of information and consent form
15th March 2015
10 INFORMATION SHEET
11 What type of play is best to help develop the skills of children aged 2-5?
Name of Researcher: Abigail Emblen
This project entails the researcher carrying out primary and secondary
research to come to a conclusion about what type of play is best to help
develop the skills of children aged 2-5. The researcher will need to carry out
primary research by asking the chosen participants questions to find out their
professional opinion about different areas of play for children aged 2-5.
The questions asked will be open-ended questions so the participant can say
how much or little, as they like. The answers to the questions given by the
participant will be used as evidence within the project. The researcher will not
change all answers given by the participant, and all answers used within the
project will be reference by the participant. No names will be mentioned within
the project and all participants will be mentioned using numbers.
The participant is free to withdraw at any time from the project, without giving
any reason. If the participant withdraws, the researcher is to accept this
without any fuss.
If the participant has any questions or concerns about the project, then they
are free to ask the participant.
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Participant Identification Number:
12 CONSENT FORM
13 What type of play is best to help develop the skills of children aged 2-5?
Name of Researcher: Abigail Emblen
Please initial box
1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information sheet dated 15th March 2015 for the above study. I have had the opportunity to consider the information, ask questions and have had these answered satisfactorily.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason.
3. I understand that any information given by me may be used in future reports, articles or presentations by the research team.
4. I understand that my name will not appear in any reports, articles or presentations.
5. I agree to take part in the above study.
________________________ ________________ ________________Name of Participant Date Signature
_________________________ ________________ ________________Researcher Date Signature
When completed, please return to the researcher named above. This will stored in a secure file and will be burned, two months after the researcher is finished
their research project.
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Appendix.C: Participant 01’s interview responses
Participant Identification Number: 01
What type of play is best to help develop the skills of children aged 2-5?
What do you understand as ‘learn through play’?
Play helps children to learn and develop in all areas of development. Play
allows children to learn through senses and by watching and copying others.
Playing – Learning – Experimenting = Thinking skills.
Do you think using play to aid learning is both effective and beneficial to the
children, and why?
Yes. Children are more engaged and interested. They do not realise they are
learning. More often it is something they have chosen to do or are more
interested in.
Learning by doing or through experiences – Piaget + Vygotsky
What would you say is the best type of play to facilitate learning?
Imaginative play: children can be who or whatever they want and practitioners
can scaffold to cover all areas of the EYFS.
Based on your experience, what are the three top benefits for learning
through play and why?
1. Different play styles cover all areas of learning (Bob Hughes’ typology
of play)
2. Covers all areas of EYFS
3. Follows children’s interests, it’s fun
What core skill is best taught through play and why?
Play allows children to get a sense of their own identity and own abilities and
to feel good about them selves. If activities are fun, they become absorbed
which aids concentration.
Play teaches children to relax, develop social skills, concentration, co-
operation, imagination and self-expression.
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What types of play are available to the children in your setting and why?
Aside of desired learning’s, what other skills do children learn through play?
Would you like to see the use of play to aid learning to be extended, thus
continuing to be used in other year groups? Why?
Yes, I’m a great believer in the Danish Philosophy where children don’t start
school till the age of 7, however do better in assessments.
Abigail Emblen 1132592
Creative Small world Imaginative Exploration Indoor & outdoor Physical
Communication Dough Shape & numbers Stories Singing Social play
Concentration Co-operation Sharing Imagination Self-regulation Self-expression Emotions Numeracy Literacy
Experimenting Cognitive skills Thinking skills Problem solving Language Social skills Creativity Knowledge of the word
29
Appendix.D: Participant 02’s interview responses
Participant Identification Number: 02
What type of play is best to help develop the skills of children aged 2-5?
What do you understand as ‘learn through play’?
Learning through play is how children learn from the world around them. Play
encourages social and cognitive skills. It can help build self-confidence. Play
can be challenging, stimulating lots of senses. It’s the adult’s role to challenge
the mind, and scaffold the learning from where they are.
Play is an enjoyment to an individual and fun.
Do you think using play to aid learning is both effective and beneficial to the
children, and why?
Definitely, as play can engage the children’s learning and then the adult’s job
is to scaffold their learning and interests. If a child is interested in the play
then their learning can move on.
What would you say is the best type of play to facilitate learning?
Going with children’s interests, grasps their imaginations and enthusiasm.
Outdoor learning can be a great distraction from a busy classroom and take
the stress of sitting for long periods on a carpet or at a table. Active movement
learning is more effective in my opinion.
Based on your experience, what are the three top benefits for learning
through play and why?
4. Children are more engaged
5. Playful activities have positive effects on the brain and learning is
processed at a better rate
6. Physical impact on bodies
What core skill is best taught through play and why?
In my opinion, social and cognitive development is the best skill taught
through play. Children have more things they need to learn. Communication
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skills, negotiation, language are skills that are learned in early life are used
right through and without them life can be hard. Think of autistic children.
What types of play are available to the children in your setting and why?
The types of play are:
Solitary play – limited interaction
Spectator play – watch others but not play with them
Parallel play – alongside others but not playing together
Associate play – starts to interact/develops preferences to friendships
Co-operative play – plays and shares ideas
What we promote in setting:
All children in setting show signs of above. We encourage play through:
exploration, sensory, imagination, investigation and physical
Aside of desired learning’s, what other skills do children learn through play?
Emotional
Social
Language
Physical
Cognitive/intellectual
Would you like to see the use of play to aid learning to be extended, thus
continuing to be used in other year groups? Why?
Yes, as when children are engaged, its been proved they learn more
effectively. Our school has brought forestry so other year groups will access
this and can take maths, literacy and life skills to the woodland area.
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Appendix.E: Participant 03’s interview responses
Participant Identification Number: 03
What type of play is best to help develop the skills of children aged 2-5?
What do you understand as ‘learn through play’?
Children learn best while playing, ensuring many learning opportunities and
resources are available.
Do you think using play to aid learning is both effective and beneficial to the
children, and why?
Yes, as a teaching assistant myself, I have seen the children who are
progressing at a steady pace; all of this through play.
What would you say is the best type of play to facilitate learning?
In reception, we have so many areas to plan so it covers all of the EYFS and
most of it is continuous provision for the children to explore many areas.
Based on your experience, what are the three top benefits for learning
through play and why?
1. Children learn through their choice of play
2. Develop social skills such as concentration
3. Develops their language through talking to adults or peers
What core skill is best taught through play and why?
Language and communication: children communicate in many different ways
while playing with children or adults. They copy others which helps to build
their language and communication skills.
What types of play are available to the children in your setting and why?
Role-play – opportunity to express them selves and find out about their own
feelings, as well as peers.
Experimental play – children ask questions to develop their knowledge, can
play on own or in a group and explore different materials for example, in a
water tray and cutting and gluing materials.
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Outdoor play.
Aside of desired learning’s, what other skills do children learn through play?
They learn to take turns, understand the world around them and understand
that everyone is different, and no two people are the same; for example, what
they like, another children may not like.
Would you like to see the use of play to aid learning to be extended, thus
continuing to be used in other year groups? Why?
-
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