Exploring play as a dynamic framework for learning in Pre-school Education
A prototype educational programme for children of preschool age was planned, realised and evaluated in Kindergarten that promote socio-dramatic play as a dynamic framework for the children’s learning and development.
The research was conducted with 40 children aged 4.5 to 6.5 attending two Kindergartens in Volos. All children come from a middle-class socioeconomic level. The exploration of the differentiations that emerge from children's responses during interviews and their drawings after the implementation of teaching interventions is a part of this paper. The tools used for research include: 1. Interviews of children attending Kindergarten, before and after the teaching intervention stage (pre-test and post-test). 2. A teaching intervention. 3. Drawings and paintings of children before and after the experimental intervention stage that help identify the play they choose. The teaching intervention uses play as its central axis and gives educators the opportunity to play different roles (observing the children, playing with them, supporting and extending learning). For the teaching intervention, we took account of the New Kindergarten Curriculum (2011) being implemented in Greece on a pilot basis. This curriculum recognises the significance of play as one of the most important learning frameworks intersecting with learning areas; it is considered a major activity for children’s development and learning.
Publications
Michalopoulou, Aik.(2011) Developing creativity trough the dramatic play in Early Years Education, Proceedings OMEP European Conference ‘Perspectives on Creativity and Learning in Early Childhood’, 218-222.
Michalopoulou, Aik.(2013) Play research as dynamic framework of learning in Early Childhood Education from children perspectives, Conference Book, International Scientific and Professional Conference OMEP2013, 145-149.
Michalopoulou, Aik., Grantza, A. (2014). The Design, Realisation, and Evaluation of an Educational Programme: Promoting Play in Kindergarten, The International Journal of Early Childhood Learning, volume 20, issue 4, 11-17.
Paper at the European Conference of OMEP held in Cyprus on 'Perspectives on Creativity and Learning in Early Childhood', European University Cyprus, Nicosia, 6-8 May 2011 (title: Developing creativity through the dramatic play in Early Years Education).
Paper at the European Conference OMEP 2013, Faculty of Teacher’s Education University of Zagreb, Zagreb, 8-11 May 2013 (title: Play research as a dynamic framework of learning in Early Childhood Education from a child's perspectives).
