ABSTRACT

This study examined Turkish early childhood teachers’ playfulness and their support of playfulness in classrooms. An explanatory mixed method design was utilised with a convenience sample of 485 teachers in the quantitative portion and 20 teachers in the qualitative portion. The quantitative data was collected through the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS), while the qualitative data was collected via interviews. No differences were indicated for teacher playfulness regarding age and/or years of teaching. Moreover, playfulness scores for teachers who did not attend courses on play and graduated from high school were higher than scores for teachers who attended play courses and graduated university. The teachers support of play and playfulness was indicated through the qualitative results. However, academic excellence and parental pressure persuaded teachers to have more goal-oriented and/or teacher-directed play time. Teachers’ involvement in play seemed non-playful and inflexible. A need for becoming aware of playfulness in the classroom was revealed. Teachers should carefully approach play time and play interactions because these activities influence children's actions, creativity, thinking, and play behaviour.

摘要

这项研究考察了土耳其幼儿教师的游戏性以及他们对课堂游戏性的支持。使用解释性混合方法设计，定量部分有 485 名教师，定性部分有 20 名教师。定量数据通过成人游戏特质量表（APTS）收集，而定性数据通过访谈收集。教师在年龄和/或教学年限方面的游戏性没有差异。此外，高中毕业后未参加游戏课程的教师的游戏性得分高于参加过游戏课程并大学毕业的教师的分数。定性结果表明教师对游戏和玩耍的支持。然而，卓越的学业成绩和父母的压力说服教师有更多的目标导向和/或教师指导的游戏时间。教师参与游戏似乎不好玩且不灵活。揭示了在课堂上意识到玩耍的必要性。教师应谨慎对待游戏时间和游戏互动，因为这些活动会影响儿童的行动、创造力、思维和游戏行为。