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Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Venketsamy, Dr. Roy
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Venketsamy, Dr. Roy
author_browse Venketsamy, Dr. Roy
author_facet Venketsamy, Dr. Roy
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2022.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/85763 Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children Venketsamy, Dr. Roy npntshangase@yahoo.com Ntshangase, Nonhlanhla Patience UCTD Early Childhood Development Centres Early Childhood Development Holistic development Play-based pedagogy Young children Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2022. South Africa has made remarkable progress in trying to improve early childhood education by introducing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) in 2015. The NCF encourages practitioners to engage young children in play-based activities to improve their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, as core developmental skills. This study aimed at investigating the perceptions and experiences of practitioners towards the implementation of play-based pedagogy in early childhood centres. The primary research question was, ‘How do practitioners perceive and utilise play-based pedagogy for child holistic development?’. The study followed the social constructivist theory to focus on the practitioners’ experiences and views of play-based pedagogy and its impact on the development of young children. The qualitative approach was used to collect information through semi-structured interviews and lesson observations from five participants in the Mpumalanga Province. Purposive sampling was used to obtain participants who were experienced, conversant, and enlightened about the play-based pedagogy to gather rich and valuable information. Data was constantly compared step-by-step and source-by-source to interpretatively explore patterns and themes. Themes and sub-themes emerged, and they assisted the researcher to analyse the data and ultimately derived the findings and recommendations. Through this study, the researcher observed that practitioners are partially implementing play-based teaching and learning in their classrooms. They have not yet fully embraced the concept of play-based pedagogy and its significance to teaching and learning in the early grades. Most early childhood classrooms, especially grade Rs, appear to adopt a more formal and academic approach to teaching and learning rather than an informal and exploratory approach. Although practitioners displayed very strong understanding and perceptions on the importance of play-based pedagogy (PBP) on holistic child development, unavailability of resources, especially outdoor equipment, was cited as the major impediment for the implementation of play-based teaching and learning. The lack of support from centre managers and principals was hinted at as another contributing factor that hampered the implementation of play-based pedagogy by practitioners. Therefore, the researcher proposed that for the successful implementation of play-based pedagogy, capacity-building training sessions should be planned for both principals and centre managers. Practitioners should be supported through ongoing professional development programs on play-based pedagogy. All capacity-building programs should be aligned and augmented with the National Curriculum Framework and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement so that there will be uniformity and coherence in the implementation of play-based teaching and learning. The Department of Basic Education must ensure that all centres are appropriately resourced with the necessary outdoor and indoor play equipment to assist and encourage practitioners to explore a variety of resources in their daily planning for teaching and learning. Finally, the capacity-building programs should encourage and promote transformation in teaching and learning from a traditional teaching approach to a more social-constructivist approach. KEYWORDS: Early Childhood Development Centres; Early Childhood Development; holistic development; Play-based pedagogy; young children Early Childhood Education PhD (Play-based Pedagogy) Unrestricted 2022-06-09T08:06:17Z 2022-06-09T08:06:17Z 2022 2022 Thesis * S2022 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85763 DOI: 10.25403/UPresearchdata.20036384 en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Early Childhood Development Centres
Early Childhood Development
Holistic development
Play-based pedagogy
Young children
Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title_full Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title_fullStr Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title_full_unstemmed Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title_short Practitioners’ perceptions of play-based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
title_sort practitioners perceptions of play based pedagogy on the holistic development of young children
topic UCTD
Early Childhood Development Centres
Early Childhood Development
Holistic development
Play-based pedagogy
Young children
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85763