Teachers’ use of guided play in early grade settings in the Nanumba North Municipality

Abstract

Using a concurrent triangulation design, this study aimed to examine teachers' use of guided play in Early Grade Centre settings in the Nanumba North Municipality. The population for the study consisted of early childhood teachers in the Nanumba North Municipality. A census technique was used to select 100 early childhood teachers for the quantitative phase, while purposive sampling was employed to select 9 headteachers. The instruments used for data collection were a questionnaire for the quantitative phase and a structured interview guide for the qualitative phase. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The findings revealed that most early childhood teachers recognized the importance of guided play in promoting learners' cognitive, social, and emotional development. However, the effective implementation of guided play was hindered by factors such as large class sizes, lack of adequate teaching and learning materials, and insufficient in-service training. It was also found that while some teachers integrated guided play into their instructional strategies, others lacked the pedagogical knowledge and support to do so effectively. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the District Education Directorate of Nanumba North Municipality should organize regular professional development workshops on guided play methodologies, ensure the provision of adequate teaching and learning resources, and support early childhood teachers in reducing class sizes to facilitate more effective use of guided play in teaching and learning.