Importance of Play Pedagogy in the Curriculum for Young Children's Essay

Importance of Play Pedagogy in the Curriculum for Young Children's Learning and Development - Essay Example r hand is a preset framework that outlines all what learners should be taught the quality and to some extent the methods that should be used, it however provides allowance for the teacher to act flexible based on the education setting or context. Most definitions of play tend to emphasize on the fact that it is a non-serious activity done for enjoyment especially for children, bearing this general definition in mind, one immediately sees why the idea of uniting it to pedagogy and curriculum would be a challenge to many. Pedagogy is seen as a formal and serious construct and there traditional schools f though imagined that the only rile lay would serve in pedagogy was disruptive as opposed to constructive. Therefore this ensured that play was separated from the curriculum and by extension pedagogy, however studies by constructivists such as Vygostky and Piaget have in the past few decades revolutionize this perception. Background Archaeological and anthropological records show evidenc e of the presence of play, dating back to the prehistoric times, since in various sites, archaeologist have discovered several items that are attributed to a playful human history. This evidence includes dice gaming sticks and bones all, which can be traced as far back to the Palaeolithic era (Fox 1977). Excavations in countries like China have discovered miniature metal and clay toys that are presumed to have been used by children, in addition there in the Egyptian temples there are drawings of adults and children actively engaged in play. Historical and anthropological studies in to the nature of the European childhood have revealed that like today, the classical Greek and roman cultures valued play and comparative analysis indicate that much of what is practiced today evolved from the ex... This paper stresses that role play in pedagogy has radically changed and diversified over time and there is little doubt that it will continue to do so in posterity. However it remains a serious challenge for anyone to make a definitive prediction of the future of the construct owing to the extensive differences in the implementation and integration of play in curriculum. For one despite policy regarding EYFE, many teacher do not spend as much time as they should assisting or supervising play because they fear, rightfully so, that it will negatively affect the measurable output form their learner which in the paper grades. This report makes a conclusion that while there are those who hold that didactic learning is more important than play, empirical and theoretical knowledge proves beyond any doubt that children benefit a great deal from play especially when applied creatively by the teacher. An examination of the various types of play reveals that from the time they are born a child will try to engage in some sort of play and it is through such activity that they interact with the world and independently develop, social, cognitive intellectual and other skills. Therefore it is essential that institutions and individual engaged in pedagogy take to consideration the benefits of play and create time space and opportunity for children to play since in the long run, they will be better students and more balanced in terms of social cognitive advancement if they have ample chances to play as opposed to being continuously drilled.