Play to interact or to have fun? Conceptualizations of play and its relationship with mathematical learning
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This cross-sectional, correlational study explores the relationship between conceptualizations of play with Chilean early childhood educators and the mathematical performance of kindergarten children (N = 290, Median age = 70,40 months, SD = 3,91). 15 educators expressed their conceptualizations of play with between 3 to 5 concepts emerging, subsequently coded by the 3 authors of the study. These categories were then used to group the educators by means of a cluster analysis. The results yielded 2 distinct groups of educators whose students were compared by means of a multivariate analysis which revealed significant differences in two mathematical tasks. It was evident that the conceptualizations of play had an influence on the mathematical learning of the students. In particular, those who consider that play integrates learning with fun obtain better results with their students. These findings reveal play as a valuable tool, not only for recreational use but also for mathematical learning.
Article Details
Funding data
-
Fondo de Fomento al Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico
Grant numbers ID22I10222 -
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo
Grant numbers 21241715
References
Balladares, J., Miranda, M., & Cordova, K. (2024). The effects of board games on math skills in children attending prekindergarten and kindergarten: A systematic review. Early Years, 44(3-4), 710-734. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2218598
Bellei, C., & Munoz, G. (2023). Models of regulation, education policies, and changes in the education system: A long-term analysis of the Chilean case. Journal of Educational Change, 24(1), 49-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-021-09435-1
Convención sobre los derechos del niño (1990). https://www.unicef.org/chile/media/3176/file/convencion_sobre_los_derechos_del_nino.pdf
del-Río, M.-F., Susperreguy, M.-I., Morales, M.-F., Peake, C., & Angulo, M. (2023). Kindergarten children’s math anxiety and its relationship with mathematical performance (Ansiedad matemática en niños y niñas de kínder y su relación con el rendimiento matemático). Studies in Psychology, 44(2-3), 542-561. https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2023.2254158
Field, A. (2000). Cluster analysis. Discovering Statistics. https://www.discoveringstatistics.com/docs/cluster.pdf
Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS: And sex, drugs and rock ´n´ roll (3.ª ed). SAGE Publications.
Fisher, K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Singer, D. G., & Berk, L. E. (2010). Playing around in school: Implications for learning and educational policy. En AD Pellegrini (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the development of play (pp. 341-360). Oxford University Press.
Grau, V., Preiss, D., Strasser, K., Jadue, D., & Müller, M. (2018). Juego guiado y educación parvularia: Propuestas para una mejor calidad de la educación inicial. Ministerio de Educación de Chile. https://bibliotecadigital.mineduc.cl/handle/20.500.12365/2116
Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R., Berk, L. E., & Singer, D. (2010). A mandate for playful learning in preschool: Presenting the evidence. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382716.001.0001
Howard, J. (2010). Early years practitioners’ perceptions of play: An exploration of theoretical understanding, planning and involvement, confidence and barriers to practice. Educational and Child Psychology 27(4), 91-102. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2010.27.4.91
Manhey, M. (2021). Planificación y evaluación para los aprendizajes en educación infantil desde un enfoque de derechos (Vol. 1). Ariadna Ediciones.
Mcinnes, K., Howard, J., Miles, G., & Crowley, K. (2009). Behavioural differences exhibited by children when practising a task under formal and playful conditions. Educational and Child Psychology, 26(2), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2009.26.2.31
McLean, K., Lake, G., Wild, M., Licandro, U., & 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. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391221130790
Merkley, R., & Ansari, D. (2016). Why numerical symbols count in the development of mathematical skills: Evidence from brain and behavior. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.04.006
Muñoz, C., Lira, B., Lizama, A., Valenzuela, J., & Sarlé, P. (2019). Motivación docente por el uso del juego como dispositivo para el aprendizaje. Interdisciplinaria: Revista de Psicología y Ciencias Afines, 36(2), 249-264. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2019.36.2.15
Naciones Unidas. (1989). Convención sobre los derechos del niño. https://www.unicef.org/chile/media/3176/file/convencion_sobre_los_derechos_del_ nino.pdf
OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 results (Vol. 1). https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en
Pardo, M., Opazo, M. J., & Rupin, P. (2021). Escolarización de la educación parvularia en Chile: Consensos entre actores del campo sobre su definición, causas y proposiciones. Calidad en la Educación, (54), 143-177. https://doi.org/10.31619/caledu.n54.953
Peake, C. (2020). b4Math [Software]. Early numerical skills assessment software. Universidad Diego Portales / Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/sb87a
Peake, C., Alarcón, V., Herrera, V., & Morales, K. (2021). Desarrollo de la habilidad numérica inicial: aportes desde la psicología cognitiva a la educación matemática inicial. Revista Latinoamericana de Investigación en Matemática Educativa, 24(3), 299-326. https://doi.org/10.12802/relime.21.2433
Rentzou, K., Slutsky, R., Tuul, M., Gol-Guven, M., Kragh-Müller, G., Foerch, D. F., & Paz-Albo, J. (2019). Preschool Teachers’ Conceptualizations and Uses of Play Across Eight Countries. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0910-1
Ritchie, S. J., & Bates, T. C. (2013). Enduring Links From Childhood Mathematics and Reading Achievement to Adult Socioeconomic Status. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1301-1308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612466268
Sarlé, P. (2017). La escuela infantil: Identidad en juego. Revista del Instituto de Investigaciones en Educación, 8(11), 90-100.
Sarlé, P., Fernández, A., Ibañez, M. I., Monteverde, A. C., De Angelis, S., & Agullo, M. (2023). Las propuestas de enseñanza y juego en las redes sociales de escuelas infantiles durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Revista Binacional Brasil-Argentina: Diálogo entre as ciências, 12(01), 58-77. https://doi.org/10.22481/rbba.v12i01.12375
Skene, K., O’Farrelly, C. M., Byrne, E. M., Kirby, N., Stevens, E. C., & Ramchandani, P. G. (2022). Can guidance during play enhance children’s learning and development in educational contexts? A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Child Development, 93(4), 1162-1180. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13730
Strasser, K., Balladares, J., Grau, V., Marín, A., Preiss, D. D., & Jadue, D. (2024). Playfulness and the quality of classroom interactions in preschool. Learning and Instruction, 93, 101941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.101941
Subsecretaría de Educación Parvularia. (2018). Bases Curriculares de la Educación Parvularia. Ministerio de Educación.
Van Der Aalsvoort, G., Prakke, B., Howard, J., König, A., & Parkkinen, T. (2015). Trainee teachers’ perspectives on play characteristics and their role in children’s play: An international comparative study amongst trainees in the Netherlands, Wales, Germany and Finland. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 23(2), 277-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2015.1016807
Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(2), 104-112. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12015
Weisberg, D. S., Kittredge, A. K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Klahr, D. (2015). Hacer que el juego funcione en la educación. American Educator, 39(2), 31-37.
Whitebread, D. (2008). Teaching and learning in the early years. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203930823
Woodcock, R. W., Alvarado, C. G., Schrank, F. A., Mather, N., McGrew, K. S., & Muñoz-Sandoval, A. F. (2019). Batería IV Woodcock-Muñoz. Pruebas de aprovechamiento. [Woodcock-Muñoz IV battery]. Riverside Publishing.
Zosh, J. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & A. Dore, R. (2017). Where Learning Meets Creativity: The Promise of Guided Play. En R. A. Beghetto & B. Sriraman (Eds.), Creative Contradictions in Education (Vol. 1, pp. 165-180). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21924-0_10