Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives on Play in Kindergarten Classrooms in Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-methods approach.

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to examine Saudi preschool teachers’ perspectives on the effectiveness of play as a teaching method in their classroom and on its role in children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Furthermore, it sought to highlight the potential difficulties that hinder Saudi early childhood educators from applying play effectively and what sort of support is needed to overcome these difficulties to enable early childhood educators to use play more fully as a developmentally appropriate practice. To accomplish these objectives, a mixed-method approach was used to gain a detailed understanding of the Saudi preschool teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward play. The primary data collection tools were a questionnaire answered by 100 Saudi preschool teachers from various public and private schools and a semi-structured interview held with five preschool teachers from different urban areas of Saudi Arabia who had already completed the questionnaire. This study has shown that the majority of participants have a positive response to the role of play in children’s development as they generally believe in the crucial functions of play in the enhancement of children’s physical, cognitive, and social skills. Based on their responses, this study also found that there is an uneven use of play among preschool teachers as a means of contributing to the achievement of the diverse goals of educational, social, linguistic, moral, and creative growth. One of the most important results of this study, from both the questionnaires and interviews, was that all of the participants recognized that adults have a significant role in childhood play as they agreed on their roles as directors, providers, participants, and observers. Moreover, this research study found that the two main barriers to the full application of play were a lack of moral and material support from the schools and a focus on academic achievement by parents and administrators. It was also found that providing workshops for early childhood educators on how to use play effectively in their classroom is necessary, alongside the requirements of space, materials, and teaching assistants. The findings of this study indicate there is a need to raise the level of awareness of parents and school administrators to the importance of play in children’s educational lives.