Use of Indoor Play to Support Children Cognitive Development - Literature review Example

Exploring the use of indoor play to support children’s cognitive development Introduction The provision of favourable environments during the early years of child development is essential to enhance proper growth of the child’s mental and physical abilities. Parents and care givers should ensure that children are provided with facilities that promote their mental, psychological, emotional, and physical growth to meet developmental milestones. Over time, researchers and cognitive development theorists have established that development of certain skills can be influenced by the quality of environments in which children grow. Development of cognitive abilities associated with reasoning, memory, thinking, and problem-solving can be induced by subjecting children to activities requiring their use of mental skills, while development of physical abilities can be influenced by the subjection of children to physical activities. This case study paper seeks to explore how indoor play is used to support children’s cognitive development, by taking the case of an early years’ setting in East Ham. Purposes and Aims The purpose of this research is to evaluate the use of indoor play in supporting children’s cognitive development. The research seeks to explore how parents, care givers, and other individuals involved in children’s upbringing can use play, particularly indoor games like block games, board games, hide-and-seek, and pretend games to promote the proper development of a child’s reasoning, thinking, memory, and problem-solving abilities. In essence, the research intends to find out whether such use of play is effective in promoting cognitive development in children, and whether particular plays have more effects on such development than others. This information would be useful in promoting proper growth and development for children in other locations globally, and would enable parents and care givers to take part in ensuring the children’s development of cognitive skills. This research is important due to its potential to contribute to existing theories regarding children’s development. By establishing the effectiveness of indoor play in promoting development of cognitive skills in children, the research would recommend implementation of play in schools, homes, and care institutions dealing with children. On the other hand, the research would advise parents and care givers against the use of indoor play during the early stages of children’s growth if such play is identified as ineffective in promoting cognitive development. The research is therefore important in determining the future use of indoor play during child growth and development, particularly in relation to cognitive development. Motivation to undertake the research results from differing views explaining the effectiveness of play in promoting development of children’s cognitive skills. The research is aimed at providing accurate and reliable information to parents, care givers, and policy makers in relation to the role played by indoor play in promoting development of children’s cognitive abilities. As such, potential users of the findings from this research include all parties concerned with children growth and development, particularly parents and care givers. In addition, the research would be used by policy-makers in their formulation of school policies and programs, since they would require understanding of the importance of indoor play in development of cognitive skills in children. Specific research questions Does indoor play support children’s cognitive development? What factors influence the effectiveness of indoor play on cognitive development? Does the age and sex of the child matter in relation to indoor play and cognitive development? What types of indoor play are recommended for children? Literature review Goswami (2008) considers cognitive development to be the mastery of mental skills and abilities, and views the process of this development as being gradual and continuous. To promote proper development of the various key areas of mental development, Goswami argues that an individual needs to be exposed to the correct environmental, emotional, physical, and social environments, since lack of such supportive environments could hamper proper cognitive development. In essence, Goswami identifies the main areas of cognitive development as infant cognition, development of conceptual skills, language development, causal reasoning ability, social cognition, metacognition and executive functions, memory, and acquisition of academic skills (Goswami 2008). With proper cognitive development, individuals are able to perform day-to-day activities with more precision, and to exhibit high levels of mental skills in their decision-making processes. Schneider et al. (2006) relate perfection of different skills in life to cognitive development, and argue that advanced development of cognitive abilities leads to superior performance of particular tasks in life. For instance, Schneider et al. (2006) observe that the ability of children to regulate their actions and executive functions is related to their mental ability to perform theory of mind tasks requiring the inhibition of proponent responses (Schneider et al. 2006). Additionally, working memory, a key area of cognitive development, is related to the children’s language proficiency and academic performance. The researchers posit that with proper cognitive development, children would grow up with the ability to perform various duties efficiently, since mental skills are essential in promoting physical abilities (Schneider et al. 2006). The role of play in promoting cognitive development has been variously examined, and various researchers advance that play is essential in enhancing proper development of cognitive skills in children. Bergen (2002) relates pretend play to development of higher levels of cognition, and asserts that there exists links between pretend play and linguistic and social competencies. Accordingly, exposure to pretend play facilitates development of perspective-taking in the later life of the children, and also influences them to adopt abstract thought. Bergen (2002) notes that the quality of pretend play a child is exposed to determines the quality of cognitive skills developed, and that the frequent exposure to such play could promote better development of the children’s cognitive, academic, and social development (Bergen 2002). Notably, the absence of opportunities encouraging children to participate in play, for instance pretend play, would hinder the proper development of the children’s cognitive competencies. Such children would gave difficulties developing their problem-solving, metacognition, social cognition, and academic skills essential in the later stages of their lives (Bergen 2002). The need for play in promoting children’s cognitive development is also supported by Tamis-LeMonda et al. (2004), following an evaluation of the contributions of play between parents and their children to the development of the children’s language and cognitive competencies. Mother-child and father-child play, as Tamis-LeMonda et al. (2004) note, is essential in promoting development of the child’s language skills, problem-solving abilities, and abstract reasoning. In addition, such play promotes the active participation of parents in their children’s growth, enabling them to identify and address weaknesses in cognitive development (Tamis-LeMonda et al. 2004). The researchers observe that children whose parents engaged them in play reported more cognitive development that children whose parents did not subject them to play. Particularly, the study examined language proficiency and cognition, and the researchers report that parental participation in children’s play had positive impacts on the children’s development of language and cognitive skills (Tamis-LeMonda et al. 2004). The influence of gender in cognitive development during the early stages of a child’s growth is minimal, and as such, play would have relatively similar effects on boys’ and girls’ cognitive development. Matute et al. (2011) report that gender differences during children’s cognitive development are minimal and they account for a low percentage of score variances during tests (Matute et al. 2011). As such, the use of play to promote development of cognitive skills would not be hindered by children’s gender differences, and the effectiveness of this mechanism would have similar effects on both girls and boys. Cognitive abilities targeted by play include visual learning and perception, memory and coding, sensory perception, spatial abilities, oral language, and metalinguistic awareness, and the development of these skills through play is not subject to gender influence (Matute et al. 2011). Inadequate physical activity is linked to development of different undesirable conditions, including health complications like obesity and cardiovascular illnesses, social inadequacies resulting from low self-esteem, and poor performance in academics and life in general due to low cognitive ability. Engaging children in play is essential not only for their health, but to promote development of their cognitive abilities. Pica (2003) advises parents and care givers to subject children to physical activity, including sports, for a better development of their physical and cognitive abilities. Play, including indoor games, is recommended as part of the parents’ and care givers’ participation in enhancing the children’s proper development (Pica 2003). Play would not only ensure that children are physically active, thus reducing the likelihood of inactivity-related health complications, but would also promote proper development of their cognitive abilities, for instance abstract reasoning, language fluency and comprehension, and problem-solving competencies. Lack of free, imaginative play as a child is associated with increased likelihood of developing aggressive behaviour in later stages of life. Similarly, such deprivation of play as a child increases the likelihood of children engaging in antisocial behaviour due to poor interpersonal relations skills. Melinda (2009) discusses the importance of play for a child, asserting that exposure to free and imaginative play promotes development of problem solving skills and coping strategies for stress. In addition, Melinda claims that play deprivation during childhood disrupts the normal emotional, social, and cognitive development of the child, leading to antisocial behaviour during the later stages of life (Melinda 2009). Allowing children to participate in play increases the opportunity for their mental abilities to grow, since their active participation draws on their mental and emotional alertness. Different games promote the development of different cognitive abilities in children, with some games improving memory and coding, and others developing logical reasoning and perspective-taking. Newman and Newman (2011) assert that since games usually include rules and rewards, children are enabled to associate actions with consequences, and this helps them in decision-making and in adhering to rules in the society. Newman and Newman (2011) perceive the media as being effective in promoting cognitive development in children, especially due to its ever-changing nature. They regard effective development as being a result of exposure to different environments, and as such, the changing nature of the media is essential in promoting cognitive growth (Newman & Newman 2011). The argument is supported by May (2011), who notes that play allows children to develop their imaginative skills by involving twists and unpredictability in the games. Indoor games like chess, scrabble, educational video games, and block games provide environments for children to use their imagination and creativity in achieving the set targets, and this improves the mental skills and cognitive abilities of the children. May (2011) suggests that incorporating such games in teaching programs would improve the children’s understanding of concepts, and promote development of problem-solving skills (May 2011). This would be beneficial in the children’s academic performance and in their later stages in life, since they would develop the ability to apply abstract reasoning and creative analysis to situations. The various literatures reviewed fail to provide sufficient information on the frequency of play, and the interest pegged to particular games by the children. Similarly, the literatures do not clearly indicate whether participation in play is voluntary or mandatory, or whether, in some cases, parents and care givers coerce children to participate in play by pegging incentives and rewards to such participation. The literatures, however, seem to agree on the claim that the use of play in children’s growth support development of cognitive abilities and skills. An interesting area of research would then involve determining the specific types of play that promote development of particular competencies, since then, teachers and parents would be in control of their children’s cognitive development. Methodology The research will use an interpretivist paradigm to evaluate the effects of indoor play on cognitive development. As such, the research will rely on the views of researchers in previous studies related to the topic, and on the information provided by respondents questioned during the study (ODonoghue 2007). The research will analyse the findings of previous studies on the effects of play on the development of cognitive abilities in children, and will seek to support these findings with data collected in relation to the use of indoor play in an early years’ setting in East Ham. The research will then match the findings of the study with those of previous studies, and provide an inference based on the analysis of the results. The use of the qualitative paradigm will enable the researcher to analyse the effects of play on cognitive development by conducting the study in natural settings, and will allow the researcher to draw from the findings of previous studies (Weller & Romney 1998). The interpretivist paradigm will enable the researcher to consider people’s opinions, views, and experiences in exploring the use of indoor play to support development of children’s cognitive abilities among the East Ham population. This paradigm will solely rely on qualitative data to make inferences, and will gather the views of the population through questionnaires and interviews. To enhance reliability and validity, researchers will avoid errors that could hamper the accuracy of the data collected, promoting the making of reliable inferences. The research will use the case study approach to analyse the use of indoor play in supporting children’s cognitive development in an early years’ setting in East Ham. The case study approach will be useful in conducting a detailed examination on the use of indoor play by the chosen population, and will enable the researcher to concentrate on the study sample rather than the entire community. As such, the case study approach will increase the accuracy of data collected during the study since the researcher will have an opportunity of carrying in-depth analyses of the East Ham population. In addition, having a particular target population on which to undertake the study will reduce cases of selection bias, since every member of the population will be eligible to participate in the research (Weller & Romney 1998). This will increase the reliability of the results due to inclusion of a wide study population, and the research will probably exhaust all lines of thinking harboured by the East Ham community in regard to use of indoor play in children’s upbringing. It will thus be possible to generalize the results on the entire population due to the exhaustion of people’s views and opinions, and the study will be representative of the population. The research will use primary and secondary data collection techniques to gather information on the use of indoor play in an early years’ setting by the East Ham population. Researchers will use questionnaires and oral interviews to gather the views of the respondents within the chosen population (Weller & Romney 1998). The questionnaires will contain structured questions requiring the response of the participants to establish the frequency of use of indoor play, and the type of games used to support cognitive development in children. Specifically, the questionnaires will be distributed to parents, care givers, and teachers within the residential area of East Ham. The questionnaires will contain questions designed for the residents of the area, particularly since the research intends to use a case study design targeting the East Ham population. The questionnaires will gather information pertaining to the types of indoor play used, frequency of use, children’s interest in the games, general description of the mode of play, including challenge levels and number of participants, and observable benefits resulting from the play. The research will also use oral interviews to collect the views of the participants regarding the use of indoor play to support cognitive development in children (Weller & Romney 1998). The interviews will be aimed at gathering the participants’ knowledge of the benefits of using play to motivate cognitive development, evaluating the perceived effectiveness of play on children’s cognitive development, inquiring on the history of indoor play in children’s upbringing in East Ham, and evaluating the overall views of the participants on the use of play in children growth and development. Researchers will also pose oral questions to children of responding age, seeking to gain their thoughts on indoor play and the frequency of their participation in such play. The research will provide information on the prevalence of play in children’s growth and development, and the general view of the East Ham population regarding the effectiveness of indoor play in promoting development of cognitive skills in children. The research will analyse the findings of previous studies in a bid to develop informed inferences regarding the use of play to support children’s cognitive development (ODonoghue 2007). Given that different researchers have conducted studies and published their findings on the role of play in promoting cognitive growth in children, the research will access such publications and analyse the findings to establish common traits among them. Although this research is focused on examining the use of indoor play among the East Ham population, it is expected that such play will have similar impacts on cognitive development in children across different communities, and analysing findings from previous studies will serve to support this view. In essence, the research will seek to identify strengths and weaknesses in the methodologies used in previous studies, and to improve on such methods for accuracy and reliability. Possible challenges encountered by researchers in past studies will be avoided in this research, and significant areas not addressed by researchers in the past will be considered. The research will ensure validity of the findings by avoiding errors and inaccuracies in selection, measurement, and interpretation of the data from the study (Bashir, Afzal, & Azeem 2008). Given that the research is focused on investigating the use of indoor play among the East Ham population, researchers will avoid selection bias by including only the individuals who reside in the specified population. This will present information relevant to the target population, and will reduce inaccuracies that could affect data validity. Similarly, the research will avoid measurement bias since the study uses a qualitative approach and an interpretivist paradigm. The research will not collect quantitative data that could be prone to errors in measurement, but will rely on the experiences, views, and observation of activities taking place among members of the study population to reach conclusions. By preventing the occurrence of errors throughout the research process, the research will increase the accuracy of its results and promote the reliability of its findings (Weller & Romney 1998). As such, it will be possible to generalize the results across the entire population due to the validity and trustworthiness of the data. Ethical considerations The ethical aspects to be considered in this research include participants’ informed consent, privacy and anonymity, and confidentiality of the information shared by the participants (Kimmel 2007). Informed consent is the participant’s awareness and acceptance to be part of the study, having understood the purpose of the study, rationale for being required to participate, the extent to which information may be used, and any other necessary requirements for participation. The participants should offer their responses willingly, and their participation should be free from any coercion or undue influence. Qualified participants in this study will be informed of such requirements before being allowed to participate, and will be allowed to abandon their engagement at any point during the study if they wish to do so. Anonymity and confidentiality in the study provides that the details of the participants will not be used for any other means apart from those stipulated in the study conditions, and will not be availed to parties not authorised by the study terms and conditions (Kimmel 2007). Engagement in the study will remain private and confidential, and no information directly exposing the participants’ identity to the public will be published. Participants will be assured of this confidentiality before engaging in the study, and will be guaranteed of the privacy of any personal information they provide in the study. Anonymity is the exclusion of participant identity from public knowledge. In the research, participant identity, including name and residential address will be withheld from public knowledge, and will not be used in any way to report the study findings. The benefits of this research include provision of information to parents, care givers, and teachers in relation to the role of indoor play in promoting cognitive development in children. The study seeks to explore the use of indoor play in supporting such cognitive development, and the findings will provide useful information to those dealing with child growth and development. Moreover, the research findings will be significant in the formulation of school programs and teaching strategies aimed at promoting cognitive development in children, since the results will indicate whether to incorporate play in school settings or not. Possible risks include the exposure of children to dangerous play, or to indoor play that affects their growth negatively (Goswami 2008). For instance, certain video games available in the market currently have violent content, and may promote development of aggression and violence traits in children. Encouraging the use of indoor play to support cognitive development could therefore expose children to games that promote development of undesirable and antisocial traits. Additionally, the use of indoor play to support cognitive growth could encourage development of particular skills at the expense of others (Schneider et al. 2006). Since most games involve the active participation of children, mainly physically, indoor play could lead to development of excellent problem solving abilities like mathematical calculations, but poor language proficiency like reading comprehension. As such, the use of play to support cognitive development is prone to the risk of developing excellence in particular skills at the expense of others. Reference List Bashir, M, Afzal, M T, & Azeem, M 2008, Reliability and Validity of Qualitative and Operational Research Paradigm, Pakistan Journal of Statistics and Operation Research, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 35-45. Bergen, D 2002, The Role of Pretend Play in Childrens Cognitive Development, Early Childhood Research and Practice, pp. 1-13. Goswami, U 2008, Cognitive developmen. The learning Brain, Psychology Press, Hove. Kimmel, A J ,2007, Ethical issues in behavioral research: basic and applied perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, Oxford. Matute, E, Inozemtseva, O, Ardila, A, & Rosselli, M 2011, Gender Differences in Cognitive Development, Developmental Psychology, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 984-990. May, P 2011, Child Development in Practice: Responsive Teaching and Learning from Birth to Five, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon. Melinda, W 2009, The Serious Need for Play, Scientific American Mind, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 22-29. Newman, B, & Newman, P 2011, Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach, Cengage Learning, Florence. ODonoghue, T A 2007, Planning your qualitative research project: an introduction to interpretivist research in education, Taylor & Francis, Oxford. Pica, R 2003, Your active child: how to boost physical, emotional, and cognitive development through age-appropriate activity, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Schneider, W, Schumann-Hengsteler, R, & Sodian, B 2006, Young Childrens Cognitive Development: Interrelationships Among Executive Functioning, Working Memory, Verbal Ability, and Theory of Mind, Routledge, London. Tamis-LeMonda, C, Shannon, J, Cabrera, N, & Lamb, M 2004, Fathers and Mothers at Play With Their 2- and 3-Year-Olds: Contributions to Language and Cognitive Development, Child Development, vol. 75, no. 6, pp. 1806-1820. Weller, S, & Romney, A K 1998, Systematic data collection, SAGE, London. Read More

 

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