Play as learning: implications for educators and parents from findings of a national evaluation of school readiness in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Recent findings from a national examination of parents’ and early years educators’ perspectives on school readiness in Ireland imply that while play is valued as a context for learning, acquiring academic skills through formal instruction remains common in pre-school contexts [Ring, E., Mhic Mhathúna, M., Moloney, M., Hayes, N., Breathnach, D., Stafford, P., … Ozonyia, M. (2016). An examination of concepts of school readiness among parents and educators in Ireland. Department of Children and Youth Affairs]. Based on key findings emerging from this research, we argue that aspects of learning considered important for ‘school readiness’ are best nurtured through a playful, rather than a formal, pedagogical approach. We conclude that efforts to improve the quality of pre-school education need to take cognisance of the apparent chasm between the research evidence and more commonly held beliefs and practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Play
• pre-school education
• school readiness
• pedagogy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Lisha O’ Sullivan is a lecturer in the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies at Mary Immaculate College. Lisha previously worked in community childcare and family support and as a non-directive play therapist. Lisha’s research interests include the role of play in early learning and development, effective pedagogy for early learning and strategies which support young children’s development as self-regulated learners.

Emer Ring is Head of the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies at Mary Immaculate College. Emer previously worked as a mainstream class teacher in primary school, a special education teacher and a senior inspector with the Department of Education and Skills. Emer has been Principal Investigator in a number of nationally funded research projects in Ireland. Areas of particular interest to Emer are early years’ education, school readiness, special education and research and evidence-based practice in education.

Notes

1 ‘Aistear’ from the Irish language translates as ‘a journey’.

2 ‘Síolta’ from the Irish language translates as ‘seeds’.