A Case Study of Malaysian Teachers’ Practice of Play-Based Learning in Preschool
Main Article Content
Abstract
Malaysian early education authorities have advocated for play-based learning in Malaysian classrooms in recent years. However, there is minimal recorded evidence of the state of play-based learning implementation in preschools. This study seeks to investigate the practice of play-based learning by three Chinese-ethnic teachers in a preschool. The choice of a case study is to enable a detailed examination of the intertwining relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice of play-based learning among the case study teachers. The findings obtained from three sets of self-report rating and observation point to a stronger influence of knowledge than attitude on the teachers’ practice of play-based learning. Improved knowledge about play-based learning is critical for the Malaysian preschool teachers to apply play-based learning in their teaching practice. Without adequate knowledge in play-based learning, there is the risk that teachers will continue to perceive “play” and “learning” as two separate entities, and correspondingly believe that play has an adverse effect on learning.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Aliza Ali, Sharifah Nor Puteh and Omarzila Omar. 2013. Teachers’ perceptions towards play-based approach in language and literacy development at preschool. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Educational Reform (ICER 2013): ASEAN education in the 21st century, 126–136. https://doi.org/10.32890/mjli.10.2013.7652
Anji Education. 2019. The principles of AnjiPlay. http://www.anjiplay.com/principles (accessed 1 August 2021).
Aquino, L.N., Nordin Mamat and Mazlina Che Mustafa. 2017. Comparing the kindergarten curriculum framework of the Philippines and Malaysia. Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal 6: 27–40. https://doi.org/10.37134/saecj.vol6.4.2017
Ashiabi, G.S. 2007. Play in the preschool classroom: Its socioemotional significance and the teacher’s role in play. Early Childhood Education Journal 35: 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0165-8
Bergen, D. and D. Davis. 2011. Influences of technology-related playful activity and thought on moral development. American Journal of Play 4(1): 80–99.
Cheng, P.W. and P. Stimpson. 2004. Articulating contrasts in kindergarten teachers’ implicit knowledge on play-based learning. International Journal of Educational Research 41(4–5): 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2005.08.005
Cherry, K. 2018. A biography of Lev Vygotsky, one of the most influential psychologists. https://www.verywellmind.com/lev-vygotsky-biography-2795533 (accessed 1 August 2021).
Chua, A. and E.P. O’Brien. 2011. Why Chinese mothers are superior. The Wall Street Journal 8 January: 1–7.
Coffino, J.R. and C. Bailey. 2019. The AnjiPlay ecology of early learning. Childhood Education 95(1): 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2019.1565743
Collum, S.P. 2012. The impact of teacher attitudes and perceptions on direct instruction on student achievement in reading. PhD diss., Liberty University.
Creswell, J.W. 2009. Mapping the field of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 3(2): 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689808330883
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. and S. Edwards. 2013. Toward a model for early childhood environmental education: Foregrounding, developing, and connecting knowledge through play-based learning. Journal of Environmental Education 44(3): 195213. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2012.751892
Cutter-Mackenzie, A., S. Edwards, D. Moore and W. Boyd. 2014. Young children’s play and environmental education in early childhood education. New York: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03740-0
Dewey, J. 1916. Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. US: Macmillan Company/The Free Press.
Fung, C.K.H. and D.P.W. Cheng. 2012. Consensus or dissensus? Stakeholders’ views on the role of play in learning. Early Years 32(1): 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2011.599794
Grieshaber, S. 2016. Play and policy in early childhood education in the Asia Pacific region. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education 10(2): 7–28. https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2016.10.2.7
Günal, N. and M. Tufan. 2019. Play and its features in preschool period. In Theory and Practice in Social Sciences, eds. V. Krystev, R. Efe and E. Atasoy, 200–210. Sofia, Bulgaria: St Kliment Ohridski University Press.
Hammer, G.P., J.B. du Prel and M. Blettner. 2009. Avoiding bias in observational studies: Part of in a series of articles on evaluation of scientific publications. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 106(41): 664–668. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2009.0664
Huang, M.H.R. 2013. Crossing the borders of play and learning: Ethnic Asian-Chinese perspectives on the value and purpose of a play-based early childhood curriculum. PhD diss., Auckland University of Technology.
Isenberg, J.P. and M.R. Jalongo. 2001. Creative expression and play in early childhood. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Ismail Abdul Fatai O., Asrul Faqih and Wafa K. Bustan. 2014. Children’s active learning through unstructured play in Malaysia. Childhood Education 90(4): 259–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2014.933695
Jung, E. and B. Jin. 2014. Future professionals’ perceptions of play in early childhood classroom. Journal of Research in Childhood Education 23(3): 358–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2014.913277
Kim, M. 2004. Teachers’ philosophical orientation and practices: A study of novice preschool teachers in South Korea. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 5(3): 276–292. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2004.5.3.3
Leung, C.H. 2011. An experimental study of eduplay and social competence among preschool students in Hong Kong. Early Child Development and Care 181(4): 535–548. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004431003611487
Malaysian Ministry of Education. 2001. National preschool curriculum (Kurikulum prasekolah kebangsaan). Putrajaya: Ministry of Education.
______. 2017. National preschool standard curriculum (Pendidikan prasekolah – Dokumen standard kurikulum dan pentaksiran semakan 2017). Putrajaya: Ministry of Education.
Marcon, R.A. 2002. Moving up the grades: Relationship between preschool model and later school success. Early Childhood Research & Practice 4(1).
Mardziah Abdullah, Mariani Md Nor, Damaety, F. and Rahman M.N.A. 2017. Students’ assessment administration among preschool teachers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 7(10): 411–418. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i10/3388
Mohd Nazri Abdul Rahman and Wan Nurul Baizura Wan Mohamad Noor. 2018. Pelaksanaan kurikulum standard prasekolah kebangsaan semakan 2017: Retrospeksi guru. Jurnal Kepimpinan Pendidikan 5(3): 59–71.
Morrison, G.S. 2014. Early childhood education today. 13th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Morrow, L.M. and M.K. Rand. 1991. Promoting literacy during play by designing early childhood classroom environments. The Reading Teacher 44(6): 396–402.
Mukherji, P. and D. Albon. 2010. Research methods in early childhood: An introductory guide. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Nazila Seyed Hendi and Adelina Asmawi. 2018. Preschool English teachers’ practices and early literacy instruction: Montessori vs. International Preschool Curriculum. MOJES: Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences 6(2): 29–36.
Nugent, M.B.A. 2017. Teachers’ experiences with integrating play-based learning into standard-driven curriculum: A phenomenological study. PhD diss., Liberty University.
Palinkas, L.A., S.M. Horwitz, C.A. Green, J.P. Wisdom, N. Duan and K. Hoagwood. 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 42(5): 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-0130528-y
Palmer, P.J. 1998. The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Parmar, P., S. Harkness and C. Super. 2004. Asian and Euro-American parents’ ethnotheories of play and learning: Effects on children’s home routines and school behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development 28(2): 97–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250344000307
Parten, M.B. 1933. Social play among preschool children. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 28(2): 136. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0073939
Pyle, A., C. De Luca and E. Danniels. 2017. A scoping review of research on play-based pedagogies in kindergarten education. Review of Education 5(3): 311–351. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3097
Pyle, A. and E. Danniels. 2017. A continuum of play-based learning: The role of the teacher in play-based pedagogy and the fear of hijacking play. Early Education and Development 28(3): 274–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1220771
Ramani, G.B. and C.A. Brownell. 2014. Preschoolers’ cooperative problem solving: Integrating play and problem solving. Journal of Early Childhood Research 12(1): 92–108. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X13498337
Rentzou, K., R. Slutsky, M. Tuul, M. Gol-Guven, G. Kragh-Müller, D.F. Foerch and J. Paz-Albo. 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
Teo, F.L. 2009. The use of play-based activities among preschool teachers in the Ministry of Education (MOE) preschools in their teaching. PhD diss., Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Trawick-Smith, J. and T. Dziurgot. 2010. Untangling teacher–child play interactions: Do teacher education and experience influence “good-fit” responses to children’s play? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 31(2): 106–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901021003781148
van Oers, B. 2010. Emergent mathematical thinking in the context of play. Educational Studies in Mathematics 74: 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9225-x
Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
______. 2016. Play and its role in the mental development of the child. International Research in Early Childhood Education 7(2): 3–25.
Wallerstedt, C. and N. Pramling. 2012. Learning to play in a goal-directed practice. Early Years 32: 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2011.593028
Wang, X. and C.B. Lam. 2017. An exploratory case study of an American-style, playbased curriculum in China. Journal of Research in Childhood Education 31(1): 28–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2016.1243175
Wong, P.L. and M. Fleer. 2013. The development of learning as the leading activity for Hong Kong immigrant families in Australia. International Research in Early Childhood Education 4(1): 18–34.
Wu, S.C. 2014. Practical and conceptual aspects of children’s play in Hong Kong and German kindergartens. Early Years 34(1): 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2013.818936
Yin, R.K. 2003. Case study research: Design and methods. 3rd ed. California: Sage Publications.
______. 2017. Case study research and applications: Design and methods. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.