Educational practices in Junior Kindergarten: How does the teacher engage with the child’s play?

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Reference

*Mavungu-Blouin C, Laurent A, Letarte M-J, Lemelin J-P. (2022). Pratiques éducatives en maternelle quatre ans : Comment l’enseignante s’engage-t-elle dans le jeu de l’enfant?. Revue des sciences de l’éducation. 48(1).

Abstract

Play allows children to develop themselves and to learn (Pyle and Bigelow, 2015), and it’s magnified when teachers are involved in it (Weisberg et coll., 2016). This descriptive and correlational study aims to examine teachers’ involvement in play during junior kindergarten play time in Quebec and to explore its relationship with other factors related to play. After analyzing 43 videos of play, results show that teachers are mostly uninvolved during children play, and that their level of involvement (Johnson et coll., 2005) seems to vary depending on the type of play (Smilansky, 1968) and the child’s gender. This study shows the importance of developing teachers’ expertise regarding children play.

DOI