Examining literacy development holistically using the Play and Learn through the Arts (PLA) programme: a case study

ABSTRACT

Literacy is one of the most important areas of development. Several pieces of research examine the positive impact of the arts on children’s literacy development. However, most of them focus on specific literacy skills and not in providing a holistic examination of literacy. Also, they adapt a structured methodology, with pre-decided lesson plans, which contradicts the liberal character of the arts. Having this in mind along with the importance of literacy as an area of learning, this research project was designed with the purpose of examining the effects of the arts on children’s holistic literacy development in the early years settings through a child-led approach. The ‘Play and Learn through the Arts’ (PLA) programme was used for a school year in a case study with 5–6-year-old children in Greece. The outcomes were measured using a mix-method approach and showed the positive contribution of PLA in children’s literacy development.

KEYWORDS:

• Literacy skills
• Play and Learn through the Arts
• arts
• early years education
• pre-school education

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to the practitioner of the setting who agreed to participate in this project and gave her time and effort to this intervention. I would like to thank the parents of the school who gave their permission for their children to participate. Special thanks to the children who participated with their exciting ideas. It was a pleasure to work with you all.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Note on contributor

Evgenia Theodotou is a Senior Lecturer at Early Childhood Studies at Cass School of Education and Communities at University of East London and a Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. She holds a Diploma in Infant and Child Care Assistant, a BA in Early Childhood Education and Care, an MA in Education and an MSc in Teaching Technology. Her PhD is in the research area of ‘Literacy skills in the early years settings’. She has more than 10 years experience in the Early Years Settings and more than 5 years in Higher Education. Her research activity is focused on literacy, the arts, creativity- and technology-enhanced learning. She has participated in several research projects and published her research in International Conferences, Journals, edited books and monographs. She is the author of two books about play and creativity. She has been a member in several Scientific Review Committees and organized several special sessions in International Conferences.

ORCID

Evgenia Theodotou http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4133-8609