Understanding the Relationship Between Teachers' Approaches to Play-Based Learning and Culturally Sensitive Practice in Kindergarten

• In Event: Relationships, Locations, and Critical Questions in Early Childhood

Abstract

In diverse kindergarten contexts, educators are increasingly using play-based pedagogy for learning and instruction, however limited evidence exists on how play-based learning is used as a culturally sensitive and equitable pedagogy. This study explored the relationship between kindergarten teachers’ implementation of play-based learning and use of culturally sensitive practice. Through qualitative analysis of videos from 20 kindergarten classrooms, the play profiles and culturally sensitive practices used by teachers revealed that the profile of teachers who practiced a broader continuum type of play-based learning tended to engage in culturally sensitive practices with their students more frequently than the profile who preferred free play and separated play from learning, supporting the use of play-based learning as a culturally sensitive pedagogy in kindergarten.

Author

• Ellen Fesseha, University of Toronto