There’s No Time for Play in Kindergarten: Preservice Teachers and the Struggle to Maintain Play

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Issues in Early Education and Child Development

Abstract

In the accountability era, pre-service teachers observe the pressure to teach language as a set of skills rather than as a system of communication. Language, however, is a contextually embedded set of practices that is often displayed and cultivated within children’s play. In this project, I seek to understand how a group of pre-service teachers negotiate the sociocultural language approaches advocated in their university courses with the skills-based orientation institutionalized by schools. More specifically, I use observations, interviews, and student-generated projects to document the struggle of pre-service teachers as they move from play-based early childhood centers to elementary school settings. By examining the obstacles for incorporating play in kindergarten, I hope to help teachers negotiate a space for children’s play.

Author

• Haeny Susan Yoon, Teachers College, Columbia University