Abstract

Preschool years constitute a vital developmental period during which foundations of later development are formed. It is during this period that essential developments such as establishing attachment bonds, forming a basic sense of autonomy and sense of self (ego), language acquisition and attaining life and social skills. Studies in developmental psychology and in a variety of other disciplines have established that the optimal growth at this stage will prepare the child for later developmental tasks and challenges. For a great part of human history care and education of children at this period was done by extended family and the immediate local community. However, as demands of recent centuries and decades have necessitated longer and more intensive periods of formal schooling, preparation of preschool children for later development has evolved accordingly. Therefore, preschool education has been added to traditional family education and socialization of children. The accumulated literature and experience in preschool education has reached to a point where not only the classroom learning experiences but also the surrounding school and neighborhood settings have been receiving attention. One of the significant aspects of these contextual factors has been the playground. A growing body of research has addressed importance of incorporating the playground into educational activities for preschool children. Studies focusing on the playground activities for preschool in Turkey have been limited. Therefore, this study aimed at examining preschool teachers’ use of playground. Fifty-four preschool teachers from three different cities were recruited for this qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. Results of the study showed that although the preschool teachers reported overall positive attitudes toward educational use of the playground, they underutilized the playground due to concerns about children’s safety and a lack of equipment and quality playground arrangements. Furthermore, they reported playing certain typically outdoors games indoors for these reasons. Results, limitations of the study and implications the results for both educations and researchers were discussed.

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