Abstract

This study is set out to investigate play as a correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children. The researcher observed that children like to play how they have achieved education through play.

Children like to play which is believe that play is a waste of time. The researcher wants to find out play as correlate to educational achievement. The survey research design was used, the sample comprised of 30 nursery school teachers the simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the schools.

The data was collected and analyzed using the statistical techniques like frequency and percentage method. Finally, major findings and conclusions showed that, play as correlate of educational achievement have more of positive effect than negative effect among the nursery school children. The researcher made some recommendations to government, teachers and parents.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This study is aim at looking at play as a correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children in Buea. This chapter consists of the following: Background to the Study, Statement of the Problem, Research Objectives, Research questions, Justification of the Study, significance of the study, Scope and Delimitation of the Study and definition of key terms.

Background to the Study

Play has been defined by Froebel (1977) as one of the most prominent activities done by children all through their lives and in school setting. It is also considered a prominent activity as most teachers mostly use it to those of the early childhood education. Schools used it as a means of enhancing educational achievement.

Developmental Psychologist refers to play as that activity whereby one engages in for one’s own sake without having any goal or functional purpose in mind. This is also an important  activity that helps to develop children cognitively and even socially and also enhances creativity, thus the said activity is self-motivating self rewarding in which children can initiate and imitate as a correlate to educational achievement.

Also, play is a non – serious activity one engage in for enjoyment regardless of the end result. Play is what we do when we do not have to follow directions to meet other people’s expectations. Play is the best way for young children to learn concept, skills and task needed to develop their cognitive, physical and social abilities. Play is the most efficient, powerful and productive way to learn information nursery school children need.

In addition, children master new concept and practice them through repetitive play. Through play, children reflects the characteristics of their society, that is, where the society is aggressive and violent the children follow and where it is gentle and peace loving they still follow. Play is a very important factor that influences nursery school children’s growth and educational achievement. It is one of the teaching strategies necessary to use in the classroom for children’s understanding.

To Ann Brewer (1998), says teachers have a choice when dealing with new concept to children. Some information must be presented in a teacher directed format, for example safety rules as those about fire can not be explored. They must be stated firmly but generally speaking telling is the best successfully strategy for presenting information to young children. Even though they can repeat words but verbal responses only indicates that they have the child’s understanding. It is one of the teaching strategies available to teachers as they play to correlate for nursery school children educational achievement.

Historical Background

In Cameroon, the history of nursery education could be traced as from 1951 when a small group of women expatiates wives in Bota Limbe agreed to start a join play group for children of two years and above, but were below primary school age. This play group was considered to be more economical to them than managing the children separately in their individual homes and rotated from one home to another. This gave chances to all mothers to take turns caterings for the children on the behalf of the others, until a Parent National Union (PNU) was formed in 1955 to carter for the children of expatriates and high senior staff between the ages two and six years. In this wise, play was initiated.

Montessori (1870 – 1952) saw the value of play in nursery school children as a correspond to educational achievement. As an Italian medical doctor, she develops a program of activities based on plays equipment designed for the training of the senses. To her, children should be involved in spontaneous learning activities, practical sensory and format skill exercises. Her program of activities base on play yielded a good result since her pilot group which was based on handicapped children performed better than some normal children in some schools. This experience forms the basis for play way method.

Froebel (1782 – 1872) is regarded as the father of play when he founded the kinder garden. He recognized this method when he found out that, children were naturally very creative from the toys to give them than being receptive, he emphasized that instruction should be based on self activity, play ad imitation.

Theoretical Background

The Development Interaction approach is based on the theories of Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Dowey, Kolb and Vygotsky. This approach focuses on learning through discovery in play to achieve educational goals.

Jean Jacques Rousseau recommended that teachers should exploit individual children’s interest in order to make sure each child obtains the information most essential to his personal and individual development and achievement in education. The five domains include physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive skills.

According to Vygotsky (1930) proposed that children learn through their interaction with more knowledgeable peers and adults. He talks on the concept of zone of proximal development. This theory heavily influence contemporary early educational practices by increasing focus on material within the zone of proximal development, that employ mental processes within the zone of proximal development encourages early childhood educators to adopt “Scaffolding” in which a teacher adjust support to fit a child’s learning needs through play.

Jean Piaget (1970 – 80) he believed that learning come from within: children construct their own knowledge of the world through experience and subsequent reflection through play. He said that “if logic itself is crated rather than being inborn, it follows that the first task of education is to form reasoning”. Also, teachers should guide children in acquiring their own knowledge rather than simple transferring knowledge.

According to Piaget, is constructivist theory of learning when young children encounter new information, they attempt to accommodate and assimilate it into their existing understanding of the world. Accommodation involves adopting mental schemes and representations in order to make them consistent with reality. Assimilation involves fitting new information into their pre-existing schemes. Through these two processes young children learn by equilibrating their mental representations with reality.

Kolb’s experimental learning theory, which was influenced by John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Jean Piaget, which says that, children need to experience things in order to learn “The process whereby knowledge is created through play as the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience”. The experimental learning theory is distinctive in that children are seen and taught as individual. As children explore and observe, teachers ask the child probing questions. The children can then adopt prior knowledge to learning new information.

Conceptual Background

Nursing school children primarily engaged in social interaction with others by imitating. They also learn to employ gesture, object eventually words and other symbols to communicate and interact with significant learning activities. Children are believe to learn self development and interaction through pretend play, this is critical because children learn to behave in a certain way through role play when they haves had similar experiences such as going to school. This activities help children acquire a sense of why and how things are being done which eventually develop expectation about appropriate.

Play helps children develop the skills necessary for critical thinking and leadership. Play is how children learn to solve problems and to feel good about their ability to learn. A play centered preschool curriculum is not a laissez – faire approach, its not the same as giving children “free play” separate from “teaching”. Rather, teacher use the power of children’s development ideas, interest and competencies to promote learning through play, circle – time and small group activities.

As play is the central force in the development of young children, play is the best way to implement the curriculum. This policy brief focuses on pay as an essential foundation for developing children’s ability to succeed in school and in life.

Goncu and Gaskins, (2006); Wood, (2004) increasingly, it is recognized that a secure pedagogy of play needs to include a thorough understanding of the meaning of play activities from the perspectives of the participants. When asked, their play activities, children talk about the important of having fun being with friends choosing freely and being outdoors school enjoy exploring the immediate environment in the security of being held, which provide physical warmth and security.

Brown and Freeman (2001), the conceptualization of play as childhood right has been enshrined within the United Nation Convention on the rights of the child. With respect to play and recreation is to assure to all the world’s children the benefit of a satisfying play life.

Children develop concepts and skills together as they are integrated in the context of meaningful and playful experiences. For example, as four – year – old Cecily learn to write the letters in her name, she is also learning the concept that each letter represents a sound and she is highly motivated by the meaning, skills have limited value without concept. For example, it does not do a child any good to be able to count to five by rote unless she understands the quantity represented (5=five blocks).

John Dewey (2001) says children engage in school work through play mediator between child and society.

Plato further says play in childhood is the preparation for future career.

Friedrich Froebel (2004) says play promotes social development in children. Spontaneous play is the outcome of vital energy and buoyancy and under the guidance of the teacher may be utilized in social development.

Lees Vygotsky (1998), play promotes children’s social development bringing imagination ad reality. Kind of generalize effective fulfillment realizing children desires.

Jean Piaget according to him, play contributes to socialization, assimilation contributing to children’s intellectual and cognitive development schools.

Rudolf Steiner said, imaginative play can help children prepare for the academic challenges in elementary schools.

Sigmund Freud says, play helps children deal with bad experiences and frustration had negative feelings associated with traumatic events.

NAEYC and NAECSSDE (2003), play provides benefits for cognitive, social, emotional, physical and moral development, Pediatrics (2006), for children from all socio-economic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Ziegler E. and Bishop Josef’s (2006), to provide educational achievement in nursery school children, play must be consciously facilitated by skilled teachers, who are well trained in observing children and in understanding how play contributes to the children’s mastery of concepts and skills. The exploratory and creativity that young children initiates themselves in play, whereas they develop concepts and understanding about the world.

Contextual Background

Play is sometimes constructed with work and characterized as a type of creativity which is essentially unimportant trivial and lacking in any serious purpose. As such, it is seen as something that children do because they are immature and as something they will grow out of as they become adults. However, as this report is intended to demonstrate this view is mistaken.

Play in all its rich variety is one of the highest achievements of human species, alongside language, culture and technology. Indeed, without play none of these other achievement would be possible. The value of play is increasingly recognized by researchers and within the policy area for adult as well as children as the evidence mount of relationship with intellectual and emotional well being.

This report however focuses on the value of children’s play. It is a particularly important time for this to be recognized as modern European and African societies face increasing challenges including those that are economic, social and environmental. At the same time, the opportunities and support for children’s play which is critical to their development of the abilities they will need as future citizens.

David White bread, during the recent decades the importance of high quality childhood education has been increasingly recognized by research community and by Government policy makers through out Europe and world – wide. However, the nature of educational achievement in this context has been contested; the emphasis continue to be upon providing contested. The emphasis continues to be upon providing young children with a rich stimulating expert within a nurturing social context increasingly in many countries.

The purpose and functions of play in children’s educational achievement have been researched for well over a century by thinkers and scientists. The main types of playing in which children engage physical play, play with objects symbolic play, play with dramatic play, and games what the rules and the implication at each area.

Kane, 2005; Louv 2005; Scarlet et al, (2005), the extent to which play promotes educational achievement and how to play and technology influences family and parent-child relationship given the undeniably significant role technology plays in contemporary living as well as its benefits to society as a whole, a measured and balanced approach to play and technology is advocated as used appropriately with children, and not as a replacement to the first hand direct multi- sensory experiences offered by other forms of play, technology has been  demonstrated to enhance young children cognitive and social abilities.

Elikind (2007) commenting  on the greater appreciation  of  the importance of free self initiated and spontaneous play to the child is healthy mental emotional and social development he stresses that in the end a playful childhood is the most basic right of childhood

Fromberg and Bergen, 2006; Kleime ,1993; Mayall [2002] play has been considered the characteristic mode of  behaviour of the young children an expression of the natural spirit of childhood and play can encompass all the views, perceptions,  experience  and expectations  that  are  connected  with it. Nevertheless  , there  appears  to  be  broad agreement amongst theorists  coming  from  a  range  of  disciplinary  backgrounds  that  play  can  make  an  important  contribution  to  children’s  development  in  education.

Statement of the problem

Generally, it  has  been  discovered  that  many  parents  and  teachers  restrict  their  children  from  playing. This  is  because  they    believe  play  is  a  waste  of  time, off   task  behaviour, messy,  noise,  unstructured  and  un educational.

Basically, children  in  nursery  school  like  play  and  they  engage  themselves  in  many  different  types  on  the  one hand. Teachers and parents do try to place limitations, thereby, making restrictions. It  is  based    on this  view that, the  researcher  wants  to  find  out  play  as a  correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children.

Objectives of the study

General research objectives

This study seeks to find out play as correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children.

Specific research objective

1. To examine socio-dramatic play as a correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children.
2. To examine instructional play as a correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children.
3. To examine manipulative play as a correlate as a educational achievement among nursery school children.
4. To examine peer group play as a correlate of educational achievement among nursery school children.