Teacher Perception of Play: In Leaving No Child Behind Are Teachers Leaving Childhood Behind?

Abstract

The value of play seems inherent to the understandings of early childhood, but teachers of young children in the elementary grades have rarely been studied as to their attitudes toward play (Wing, 1995). The research explored teacher perceptions of the role of play in learning and the implications for practice. The study involved 4 first-grade teachers from 2 diverse socioeconomic school settings. The pheno-menological work followed a qualitative format of interview with an analysis of related documents. Although the instructors held a common value for play in the development of young learners, they did not make a corresponding provisions for such in their classrooms with the exception of 1 participant. Varying perceptions of the definition and place of play resulted in differing levels of willingness to include child-initiated play that were spawned within the educational contexts. These perceptions led to the inductively realized outcome variables of instructional goals, student products, and classroom climate. Dewey's (1916) view of work and play, Bredekamp and Rosegrant's (1995) Continuum of Teacher Behaviors, and Ajzen and Fishbein's (1980) theory of reasoned action provided frameworks for deductively understanding the teachers' instructional decisions.