Stakeholder Perspectives of Pbl and Their Involvement in the Implementation of Play Pedagogy in Selected Schools Offering ECE in Southern and Central Zambia
Keywords:
Early Childhood Education, Play, Play-based Learning, School Readiness
Abstract
While several studies have been done on parental involvement in early childhood education, gaps still exists relating to the conceptualisation of play and play-based learning in different contexts. The various perceptions of play and play- based learning have a strong influence on their involvement in play-based learning activities involving children in Early Childhood Education. Using a qualitative approach, framed within the interpretive research paradigm, this study revealed a disjuncture between the positive perception held by the stakeholders on play and PBL to the reality of play-based learning in the ECE schools. The researchers asked three questions: 1. What are the perceptions of parents, community, and school administrators (teachers and administrators) regarding play and play-based learning? 2. How do these stakeholders get involved in PBL? 3. And what factors influence their involvement? The researchers collected data through key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions and classroom observations. The study established that the involvement in PBL varied among stakeholders. For parents and community members their involvement was often based on solicitation by the school administrators and external development agencies - as opposed to volunteering postulated by Epstein’s theory of parental involvement employed in the study. Among the factors that influenced their participation was a general lack of a clear understanding of PBL and their role and functions in PBL and ECE in general. Thus, the study recommends capacity building in PBL for parents, community members and school administrators.References
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2. Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Sheldon, S. B., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., ... Greenfeld, M. D. 2018. School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action: Corwin Press.
3. Fleer, M. 2018. Pedagogical positioning in play–teachers being inside and outside of children’s imaginary play. In Early Childhood Pedagogies (pp. 87-100): Routledge.
4. Halgunseth, L. 2009. Family engagement, diverse families, and early childhood. Young Children, 64(5), 56-58.
5. Hathaway, T. 2019. Teaching Instructional Practices: Play-Based Learning–Supporting the Transition from Early Years to Primary Education. In The SAGE Handbook for Comparative Studies in Education (pp. 445-470): SAGE Publications.
6. Keung, C. P. C., and Cheung, A. C. K. 2019. Towards holistic supporting of play-based learning implementation in kindergartens: A mixed method study. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(5), 627-640.
7. Krane, V., and Klevan, T. 2019. There are three of us: parents’ experiences of the importance of teacher-student relationships and parental involvement in upper secondary school. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 24(1), 74-84.
8. Lungu, S., and Matafwali, B. 2020. Play based learning in early childhood education (ECE) centres in Zambia: A teacher perspective. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(12).
9. Matafwali, B., and Chansa-Kabali, T. 2017. Towards sustainable access to early childhood development in Zambia: Re-envisioning the role of community based early childhood programs in promoting school readiness. Creative Education, 8(6), 901-911.
10. McLean, K., Lake, G., Wild, M., Licandro, U., and Evangelou, M. 2023. Perspectives of play and play-based learning: What do adults think play is? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 48(1), 5-17.
11. Menon, A. 2013. Barriers to parental involvement in early childhood education classrooms in Mumbai slums as perceived by parents. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 2(2), 1314-1318.
12. Ministry of Education. 2015. Early childhood education teachers’ diploma syllabus. Lusaka: Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialised Services.
13. Ministry of Education. 2020. Parental Involvement in ECE Classrooms. Lusaka: Ministry of Education.
14. Monkevičienė, O., Stankevičienė, K., Autukevičienė, B., and Jonilienė, M. 2017. Pedagogical strategies that improve children’s play-based learning. Paper presented at the SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference.
15. Nakawa, N. 2019. Current Situation of Zambian Children’s Guided Play in an Early Childhood Education Pre-Mathematics Classroom: A case study. Paper presented at the SAARMSTE, Durban.
16. Pyle, A., Pyle, M. A., Prioletta, J., and Alaca, B. 2020. Portrayals of Play-Based Learning: Misalignments among Public Discourse, Classroom Realities, and Research. American Journal of Play, 13(1), 53-86.
17. Suri, H. 2011. Purposeful sampling in qualitative research synthesis. Qualitative Research Journal, 11(2), 63-75.
18. Taylor, M. E., and Boyer, W. 2020. Play-based learning: Evidence-based research to improve children’s learning experiences in the kindergarten classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48, 127-133.
Published
2024-03-05
How to Cite
Sichula, N., Kalinde, B., Mambwe, R., Kaluba, C. and Phiri, D. (2024) “Stakeholder Perspectives of Pbl and Their Involvement in the Implementation of Play Pedagogy in Selected Schools Offering ECE in Southern and Central Zambia”, Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 5(4), pp. 89-107. doi: https://doi.org/10.53974/unza.jlss.5.4.1166.