Date of Award
7-11-2015
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Ed.
Department
Education
Keywords
Early childhood education, Early years curriculum, Educators' perceptions and practices, Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten program, Pedagogy of play, Play-based learning
Supervisor
Daniel, Yvette
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The government of Ontario introduced the Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten (FDELK) program policy initiative in September 2010 in all elementary schools across the province. This study investigated early childhood educators' and kindergarten teachers' perceptions and practices of play-based learning in Ontario FDELK classrooms with particular concentration given to their interpretations of the policy, documents, and dissemination strategies. A critical analysis was conducted deconstructing play and exposing its complexity, attributed significance, and risen issues. The results of this study indicate a partition among practitioners and a policy/practice divide with compartmentalization of play and learning confounded by severable variables: localizing play, image of the child, educator's role, compound effects, and dissemination strategies. A plan of action is suggested underscoring the importance of rethinking roles and relationships amongst educators, students, and play and learning in order to sustain policy effectiveness.
Recommended Citation
Cozzolino-Lesperance, Josie, "Two schools of thought on play: Rethinking Ontario's educational reform" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5291.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5291