The purpose of this study was to find significance of relationships between quality of preschool environment and children’s play patterns.
Two research question were set up in this study.
1. What are the differences in the play patterns between th...
The purpose of this study was to find significance of relationships between quality of preschool environment and children’s play patterns.
Two research question were set up in this study.
1. What are the differences in the play patterns between the children in high quality environment and the children in low quality environment? In other words, what are the differences in Howes’ peer play categories, Smilansky’s cognitive play categories, Rubin and his assosiates’ social cognitive play categories, and other behaviors between the two groups?
2. What are the differences in the trends of play patterns between the children in high quality environment and the children in low quality environment according to passage of time? In other words, what are the differences in Howes’ peer play categories, Smilansky’s cognitive play categories, and Rubin and his associates’ social-cognitive play categories between the two groups?
For this study, 60 children of two preschools in Iri city were selected. Their mean age was 56 months.
The early childhood environment rating scale developed by Harms and Clifford(1980) was used to select two preschools which were different in the quality.
The play activities of children in two preschools had been recorded by videocameras for 3 periods through 12 weeks, Each child had been videotaped in a randomly determined order 6-7 times 10 seconds during indoor free play time in a day, a total of 40 times for two weeks every one period.
Two raters checked frequency of play patterns using observational check list. The data were analyzed by frequency and percentage of play patterns, and x^2 using SPSS. Graph was used to represent the trends of play patterns according to passage of time.
The findings of the study are as follows:
1. Significant differences were found between high and low quality preschools in the children’s preference of play patterns. The Children in high quality environment preferred the higher levels of play pattern in the peer play category, the cognitive play category, and the social-cognitive play category but the children in low quality environment preferred the low level of play pattern. Especially children in high quality environment were more likely to engage in reciprocal social play, game with rule, and group-constructive play than children in low quality environment. The children in low quality environment preferred other behaviors. Especially they were more engaged in negative behavior among the other behaviors than children in high quality environment.
2. Significant differences were found in the trends of play patterns which children preferred according to passage of time. The children’s preference of play patterns changed through passage of time differently according to quality of preschool environment.
The most preferred play patterns of children in high quality environment were changed progressively from functional play to constructive play, solitary play to simple social play, and group-functional play to group- constructive play. But the most preferred play pattern of children in low quality environment was not changed. In other words, they preferred only solitary play and functional play in spite of passage of time.
In changing trend of play patterns according to passage of time, children’s play pattern trend in high quality environment changed desirably: The frequencies of simple social play, constructive play, and group-constructive play which were high of in level were increased. The frequencies of simple parallel play, functional play, and parallel-functional play which were low in level were decreased.
Children of low quality environment reveal the same pattern of change, but change is not so presently. And also, the frequences of simple parallel play and parallel-functional play in low level were increased and the frequencies of simple social play and group-functional play in higher levels were decreased.