Parents views on play in the education of young children in the Foundation Stage - Essay Example

The paper tells that developments in education point to the benefits of collaboration between the home environment and the school in the facilitation of children’s growth, learning and development. The Government endorses literacy and numeracy strategies based on play especially in the early years and the fact that parents are expected to take part in their children’s learning may press parents to seriously consider the advantages and disadvantages of play. However, Wiltshire claims that parents question what the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has to offer their children as it appears heavily play- based.

Research reveals that parents recognise the value of play but are sometimes confused about its function in children’s learning. If the parents’ view is that play is merely for entertainment and social purposes, then parents may not understand the importance that play is perceived to have and would be less likely to become fully involved as partners in their children’s education. Piaget argued that ‘play’ is often neglected by adults since it has no significant function and as Brierley points out, if a task is easy or unimportant, people may refer to it as ‘child’s play’ which reinforces the idea that play is not challenging, such assumptions are worth exploring.

This study further investigates this by exploring the attitudes of parents of foundation stage children regarding play and if, and how, they encourage learning through play in their own homes; it is assumed that parents play with their children at home, and may not even be aware of its inherent benefits in the children’s learning and development.. If the parents’ view is that play is merely for entertainment and social purposes, then parents may not understand the importance that play is perceived to have and would be less likely to become fully involved as partners in their children’s education.

Piaget argued that ‘play’ is often neglected by adults since it has no significant function (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969) and as Brierley (1987) points out, if a task is easy or unimportant, people may refer to it as ‘child’s play’ which reinforces the idea that play is not challenging, such assumptions are worth exploring. This study further investigates this by exploring the attitudes of parents of foundation stage children regarding play and if, and how, they encourage learning through play in their own homes; it is assumed that parents play with their children at home, and may not even be aware of its inherent benefits in the children’s learning and development. 1.2 Aim and objectives of the Study This study aims to investigate parents’ attitudes toward learning through play in the foundation stage.

The specific objectives of this research are: 1. To research related literature in order to define play. 2. To identify the types of play used in the foundation stage within one particular school. 3. To establish why play is important for children’s development. 4. To explore parents’ beliefs and attitudes, through the use primary research, regarding play as a way of learning in the foundation stage through the use of a questionnaire. 5. To identify whether children have access to play activities at home to support their development at the foundation stage. 1.3 Rationale of the