The Role of Play on Children’s Development and Learning

Shannon O’Hara | Shannon.ohara16@gmail.com

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of play on children’s development and learning. Play
is a very important part of a child’s life. It is a primary activity in childhood and is regarded as a key factor in
promoting learning and development. Play in the early years has the potential to provide young children with a
highly engaging and meaningful context for their development and learning of essential concepts and skills such as
social, emotional, cognitive, physical, language, and literacy skills.
The need for this study was important because despite the many benefits derived from play, time for free
play has been markedly reduced for children. Therefore, the current research study served to counter this trend by
exploring the importance of play for young children. It explored the relationship between play and young children’s
development and learning, the attitudes and beliefs of teachers and parents about play and learning, how teachers
incorporated play into their curriculum, and the best practices teachers used to promote child development and
learning through play.

Research Question 1
What impact does play have
on children’s development
and learning?
Research Question 3
Research Question 2
What are the best practices
In what ways and to what extent
in using play to promote
are teachers incorporating play
child development and
into their curriculum?
learning?

Project Pa rticipa nts D ata Colle ction T ools

The research for this study was conducted at a Two data collection tools were used to help answer the
childcare center located in a small city in the research questions.
Southwest region of New Hampshire. The center is
(1) Surveys – surveys were distributed to preschool
comprised of four classrooms, serving infants through
teachers and preschool parents. They were developed in
preschoolers. The total student population at the
order to help answer research question 1. This data
center includes 46 children and ten classroom
collection method was chosen to show how both parents
teachers. For the purposes of this study, research was
and teachers perceived the role of play in learning and
conducted in the two preschool classrooms.
the impact that it has. They were designed to ask parents
and educators to share their personal views, beliefs, and
There were two groups of participants in this study.
opinions on play and learning. This allowed for
One group of participants included parents of
perspectives from different groups of people.
preschool aged children. The second group of
participants included preschool teachers. Thirty-six
(2) Focus group – a focus group was held with four
parents from the preschool classrooms and four
preschool teachers to help answer research questions 2
teachers were invited to participate in the study.
and 3. The focus group was intended to gain further
Sixteen parents and four teachers participated.
information on how teachers perceived the role of play,
how they incorporated play into their curriculum, and
  how they supported children’s learning through play.
 The Role of Play on Children’s Development and Learning
Shannon O’Hara | Shannon.ohara16@gmail.com

Research Question 1
Overall, the data collected through the two surveys and focus group revealed that both parents and
teachers agreed that children learn through play and that is helps them learn social, emotional, cognitive,
language-literacy, and physical skills. There was 100% agreement that play helps children develop skills such
as communicate effectively, work well with others, move with coordination and strength, and think
creatively.
•  Communication
W hat i s you r de fin iti on of pl ay? •  Receptive language
•  Speak, listen,
Participants defined play as a child’s self-led understand •  Cooperation
•  Comprehension •  Negotiation
activity, is unstructured, is done for fun, is a •  Story-telling •  Collaboration
•  Socialization
child’s choice of interest, how children make •  Read and write
•  Problem-
•  Associate symbols
sense of the world, when children are engaged, with meaning solving
•  Social cues
curious, and excited by materials, people, and
experiences, and the use of imagination. Skills
During Play
H ow do you th i nk you ng c hi ldr en l ear n? •  Problem-solving
•  Creative thinking
•  Empathy
•  Self-Regulation
Participants responded that children learn •  Critical thinking •  Persistence
•  Imagination •  Self-confidence
through play, social interactions, experiences, •  Ask questions •  Self-esteem
•  Make decisions •  Emotional-
materials, hands-on activities, by asking regulation
questions, and repetition/practice. •  Coordination
•  Balance
  •  Fine-motor
  •  Large-motor skills
•  Endurance
Pl ay ac tivi tie s for l ear ni ng
Both groups of participants agreed that play activities can be used for learning. Parents and teachers
unanimously agreed that play activities such as - role-playing, playing with dolls, action figures, cars, or
trains, arts & crafts, play-dough, blocks or LEGOS, and housekeeping – could be used for learning.

Research Question 2
F le xi bili ty
S ch edu le : Plan the classroom schedule with big
chunks of time. Allow children to come back to
things…they can put a little sign up and come back
to it either later in the day or even the next day.
Pl an ni ng: Described curriculum as one that was
emergent, negotiable, and intended.
“It’s not always our vision of what
happens…sometimes it’s like, oh, we didn’t see that
coming, we are going to go on that little tangent.
When that happens, we rethink.” Team with the
children and very open to suggestions from children
En viro nme nt : Set up learning centers that are well-
defined with clear boundaries in a way that makes
  to a child and that they can see what you do in
sense
each area.
Te ac he r’s Rol e
Obse rve r: Stand back and watch because they
discovered that sometimes teachers getting
involved can stall the play and the children may
rely on them too much
F aci li tato r: Facilitators and provide assistance
when needed…balance between facilitating and
observing
S caffoldi ng: “Through the materials and
teacher support we are giving them through play,
they are learning all of those skills.”
“You are figuring out what you can supply to the
environment that will help them continue to
construct, create, build, and add to their
play…just helping to empower.”
 The Role of Play on Children’s Development and Learning
Shannon O’Hara | Shannon.ohara16@gmail.com

Research Question 3

All young children need the support of teachers who understand the value of play, recognize the
significance of play in promoting children’s development, and engage in practices that scaffold children’s
experiences and skills during play. Teachers have a great influence on fostering children’s learning and
development through play by how they set up the environment, through the materials they provide, and
how they interact with children during play. The responses from the focus group demonstrated that the
teacher participants in this study supported learning and development through play by providing materials
that extended children’s learning and by using a balanced approach to how and when they intervened in
children’s play.

• Teachers need to provide ample time and space or play everyday, both indoors and outdoors.

• Materials need to be provided that are appropriate to the children’s developmental levels and that
allow them to carry out their play activities.

• All types of play that contribute to children’s development need to be available, including
sociodramatic, sensory, constructive, and physical.

• Parents and other educators need to be engaged in discussions of the role of play in children’s
learning.

• A flexible curriculum needs to be utilized that promotes developmentally appropriate practices and
is based on knowledge of children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and language development.

 
 

For further information about play and learning:

Smith, P. K. & Pellegrini, A. (2013). Learning through play. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Retrieved from
http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/dossiers-complets/en/play.pdf
Christie, J. F. & Roskos, K. A (2013). Play’s potential in early literacy development. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood
Development. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/dossiers-complets/en/play.pdf
White, R. E. (2012). The Power of Play. Minnesota Children’s Museum. Retrieved from
https://www.childrensmuseums.org/images/MCMResearchSummary.pdf