ERIC Number: EJ821041
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957-5146
EISSN: N/A
The Long-Day Childcare Context: Implications for Toddlers' Pretend Play
Kowalski, Helen S.; Wyver, Shirley R.; Masselos, Grace; de Lacey, Philip
Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, v25 n1 p55-65 Mar 2005
Forty-eight toddlers aged 17 to 31 months attending long-day childcare participated in this project, which examined some of the influences of the day-care context on their emerging pretend play. Ninety minutes of video-taped observations were collected for each participant as they engaged in free play with their same-age peers and their pre-school-aged peers. The play environment was assessed on a number of dimensions, including the provision of play materials, the quality of care and staff attitudes toward play. Additionally, the participants' weekly attendance pattern was taken into consideration. The complexity of pretend play was coded in accordance with Westby's Symbolic Play Scale (1991). Two components of the long-day childcare context--play with pre-school-aged peers and the "unsatisfactory" provision of play materials--were found to be significantly influential on the participants' complexity of pretend play. An attendance of four or more days in childcare was also found to be favourable. A number of implications for educational programming in the day-care context arise from these results.
Descriptors: Play, Attendance Patterns, Toddlers, Teaching Methods, Child Care Centers, Video Equipment, Peer Relationship, Educational Quality, Measures (Individuals), Coding, Toys, Social Environment, Rating Scales, Questionnaires, Caregiver Attitudes, Foreign Countries
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A