TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of Contents vii
Abstract x
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the
Study 1
1.2 Statement of the
Problem 7
1.3 Purpose of the
Study 8
1.4 Research Questions 8
1.5 Scope of the Study 9
1.6 Clarification of
Major Terms and Variable 9
1.7 Significance of the
Study 10
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Concept of Play 12
2.2 Concept of Outdoor
Play Activities 15
2.3 Types of Outdoor
Play 23
2.4 Factors for
Selecting Outdoor Play Activities 24
2.5 Level of Usage of
Outdoor Play Activities in Nigeria 29
2.6 Factor Affecting
the Quality of Concept of Outdoor Play 33
2.7 Appraisal of
Reviewed Literature 35
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 37
3.2 Population of the
Study 37
3.3 Sample and Sampling
Techniques 38
3.4 Research Instrument 38
3.5 Validation of the
Research Instrument 39
3.6 Produce for Data
Collection 39
3.7 Data Analysis
Techniques 39
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND INTERRELATION
4.1 Descriptive
Analysis of Respondents 40
4.2 Answering Research
Questions 41
4.3 Summary of Findings 46
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION,
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Discussion of the
Findings 47
5.2 Conclusion 49
5.3 Recommendations 50
5.4 Suggestions for
Further Studies 51
Reference 52
Appendix 57
Abstract
Play
is the root and foundation of creativity in arts and science as well as in the
daily life. The usage for instructional purpose as Outdoor play offers children
a diversity of environmental stimuli that contributes to increased use of
senses, increased health benefits, interactive physical activity, and
experimentation with social situations that prepare children for future life
experiences. This study, therefore, examines the quality of outdoor play in
Kwara South public primary schools. The descriptive survey research design was
adopted. Purposive sampling techniques was used to select the sample of 100
primary school teachers involved in the study. A researcher designed
questionnaire tagged the quality of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary
schools was used for data collection. Percentage was used to answer the
research question. The study revealed that the outdoor play activities in Kwara
South public primary schools are jumping
puddles and noughts and crosses, the quality of
outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools was low. The level of utilization
of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools was low and the extent of
teachers’ skills in the use of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary
schools was high. The study recommended that Government
and school administrators should work towards the provision of equipment that
will facilitate outdoor play activities. Effort should be geared towards
increasing quality
of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools. Teachers should be
trained on the use of outdoor play as a method of teaching that is advocated in
the National Policy on primary education in Nigeria Parents
should be orientated on the influence of their parenting activities on family
involvement and the need to be more democratic while dealing with their
children.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the
Study
The need
for educating children became inevitable since education in a contemporary
world is seen as the corner stone for the individual social and economic
development. Education forms the basis for literacy, skill acquisition and
technical advancement. Osakwe (2006) described education as an indispensable
tool for nation building and this involves a systematic training and
instruction designed to transmit knowledge, skill, potentials and abilities,
which enable an individual to contribute efficiently to his or her growth and
development. Based on this, modern societies show serious concern in the
education of their young ones. They make provisions for their pupils through
primary education which takes effect in primary school.
Maduewesi (1999) observed that one of the most basic principles of
modern teaching is that teachers should find and use the most attractive
approaches to help the learner to learn. Thus, the teacher has to device
methods that are sufficiently motivating to persuade the learner to learn what
is necessary. Play method of teaching enables the pupils to be actively
involved in the learning process whereby they act as stakeholders in an
imagined or real scenario. This technique compliments the traditional teaching.
In play method, the teacher selects a particular event or situation that
illuminates key theories or may be of importance to the topic of the study.
Pupils are given detailed background readings and assigned stakeholder rules as
preparation. The format of interaction between stakeholders varies and may
depend on time or resources available. For young children, play is known to be
their most natural activity which not only contributes to their development but
also gives them satisfaction, enjoyment as well as helps in developing their
potential in full (Ibiam, 1997).
Play is the root and foundation of creativity in arts and science
as well as in the daily life. Morffitt, (2003) describes play as a straight
exploration or learning activity which provide for information seeking
behaviour. It is a powerful inner force through which a child reaches out to
interact with his environment and it involves movement and different sensory
modes (Aleke, 2011). The child seems to learn more when he/she can move around,
handle, and manipulate objects. Through such sensory motor activities, he/she
learns much about the properties of matter and finds way(s) to adapt to a
complex environment through play experiences related to cause and effects.
Children who are prevented from having a wide range of sensory motor (play)
experiences in these early years, due to illness, over protection, or other
reasons are not likely to develop certain kinds of cognitive information in the
same way later.
Play also refers to a range of voluntary intrinsic activities that
are normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment. It also involves some
manipulation of objects in the environment by a person with others. Play method
becomes more effective when it is taken to a zone where pupils can relate what
they are learning to their immediate environment. Playgrounds are places where
children’s play can take off and flourish. Good outdoor playgrounds are large
enough and designed in such a way that children’s play can come to full expression,
where children can make a mess, run, jump and hide, where they can shout, whistle
and explore the natural world. A variety of factors determine the quality of a play
ground for young children from infants to eight-year-olds.
Addressing play needs of young children
is within the domain of occupational therapy (American Occupational Therapy
Association, 2014). Exploring play experiences and factors which affect a
child’s play at this key developmental stage supports the delivery of holistic,
family-centred occupational therapy (Coughlan & Lynch, 2011). Additionally,
the need to research children at play falls within the priorities of the
Occupational Therapy National Research Agenda (Association of Occupational
Therapists Ireland, 2013) which recommends undertaking basic research to
examine relationships among impairment, activity, and participation. Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro developmental disorder characterized by
impairments in social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive
behaviours (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013).
These include design of the play area, safety issues, play equipment,
accessibility, and adult supervision. Outdoor play should not become too
academic and too teacher controlled. This can be called the outdoor play.
Outdoor play offers children a diversity of environmental stimuli that
contributes to increased use of senses, increased health benefits, interactive
physical activity, and experimentation with social situations that prepare
children for future life experiences. Outdoor play offers children a richer and
more diverse play environment than indoor and often digital play which allows
children greater creativity and flexibility in their play.
Outdoor
play and brain development does not stop once a child enters into school, in
fact, outdoor play is equally important for children of all ages. Research and
studies show us that active, outdoor, free play can lead to improved academic
performance. Outdoor play is an experiential process
of learning by performing acts/experiences that takes place predominantly out
of the classroom setting or through exposure to the out-of-doors (Fägerstam,
2012). Lederman (2007) conclude that outdoor play activities are the most
valuable informal science learning and it is voted to be more impactful to
learning of science.
Lederman found out that ‘learning environments that allow students
to interact physically and intellectually with instructional materials through
hands-on experimentation and minds-on reflection’ make substantial impacts on
students’ learning. Though outdoor play is effective but the quality is not
ascertained. More so, teachers use the outdoor environment in children’s
learning, though it likely varies between schools as well as between teachers
at each school. However, there are signs that compulsory school teachers are
using the outdoor environment in the school curriculum more than they did
before. Schools report that they practise outdoor education on a regular basis
(Óladóttir, 2008).
The importance of outdoor play is
evident in the fact that health promotion position statements have been
designed in relation to it. According to the Position Statement on Active
Outdoor Play (Tremblay et al., 2015), “Access to active play in nature and
outdoors-with its risks- is essential for healthy child development.” Studies
support the premise of the value of outdoor play. Bjørgen’s (2015) study
demonstrated that the wellbeing of 3 to 5 year-olds was supported through their
involvement in physical play which provided them with social relationships,
freedom to act, challenges, and opportunities for variation, in the outdoors
environment.
Parents and educators agree that outdoor
play is a natural and critical part of a child’s healthy development (Clements,
2004). Outdoors offers unique opportunities to children including: access to
space with opportunities to be themselves, fresh air, the experience of
weather, and contact with natural things, freedom to be adventurous, discovery
and play, stimulation of the senses, movement experiences, social interactions,
and learning safety (White, 2014).
Outdoor play has its own advantages but
it is often neglected. A drift to
increased time spent indoors has been identified in the lifestyles of children
today, who play outdoors less than their parents did (Bassett, John, Conger, Fitzhugh,
& Coe, 2014). Research posits this changing nature of children’s lives as a
major concern and suggests that the child-nature connection is under serious
threat (Heritage Council, 2011). Considering that the prevalence of obesity is
at its highest ever and increasing, it could be surmised that these two
phenomena are not unrelated (Ng, as cited in Tremblay, 2015). Outdoor play
pertains not only to the child’s home and community environment, but also their
school environment. Indeed, in the UK, most children spend more than 2000 hours
of their life in a school playground, probably more than in any other outdoor
play environment (Grounds for Learning, 2012).
There is also a widespread belief that
spending time outdoors, especially in a natural, pollution-free environment, is
good for children’s physical health and well-being. Despite the benefits of
using the outdoors in children’s learning, teachers in many countries like
Nigeria are concerned about diverse risks in the outdoor environment (Kernan and
Devine 2010). This concern has developed in recent years or decades. Stephenson
(2003) sees it as the impact of discourse about the dark side ofrisk, with
emphasizes on the possibility of failure and injury. Teachers’ view of the
risks differs across countries. In studies of preschool practitioners’
attitudes by Sandseter in 2012, the researcher found children’s risky play
important for their development and well-being. But a difference was found in
the extent of their support for such play. This study would therefore examine
the quality of outdoor play in primary schools.
1.2 Statement of the
Problem
The goal of
teaching and learning is to effect desirable behaviours on the learner. Methods
used by teachers in teaching are critical to the achievement of theenvisaged
goals as stipulated in the National Policy on Education. The play method with
the use of outdoor play of teaching that is advocated in the national policy on
pre-primary and primary education seems not effectively used in most schools,
perhaps because teachers are not well trained or may be because the materials
used in play method of teaching are inadequate which may affect the quality.
Based on the identified gap, this study will examine the quality of outdoor
play in primary schools in Kwara South.
1.3 Purpose of the
Study
The purpose
of this study is to examine the quality of outdoor play in Kwara South public
primary schools. Specifically, the study would examine
1.
The outdoor play activities
in Kwara South public primary schools.
2.
The quality of outdoor play
in Kwara South public primary schools.
3.
The level of utilization of
outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools.
4.
The extent of teachers’
skills in the use of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools.
1.4 Research Questions
The
following research questions will be raised:
1.
What are the outdoor play
activities in Kwara South public primary schools?
2.
What are the quality of
outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools?
3.
What are the level of
utilization of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary schools?
4.
What are the extent of
teachers’ skills in the use of outdoor play in Kwara South public primary
schools?
This study intends to investigate the quality of outdoor play in
Kwara South public primary schools. The
population for this study will consist of all teachers of primary schools in
the selected primary schools. A descriptive research method of the
quantitative survey design will be used to gather relevant information using a
researcher designed questionnaire.
The
following terms and variables are clarified as used in the study;
Outdoor Learning: this is a learning process that takes place outside the four wall
of the classroom.
Outdoor Learning Environment: environment that are
closes related to the instruction taking place outside the four wall of the
classroom.
Perceptual Development:
The capability to gain, understand and react in an appropriate
manner to sensory and motor experiences.
1.7 Significance of the Study
This study
would be of great importance to the following; teachers, Curriculum Developer,
pupils, Stakeholders, parents, Ministries of Education, Governmental and Non-
Governmental Organization andResearchers.
The
findings of this study could be beneficial to teachers in primary schools in a
way that it would enable them to collaborate with their pupils and make use of
outdoor play activities which are relevant to their field of study. It could also enable the teachers’ to create
an archive of relevant activities and materials for themselves outside the
classroom.
To the
pupils, the use of outdoor play would enable them to effectively learn and retain
what they have learnt and thereby advancing their academic performance.
Besides, this study will help to develop positive attitude of pupils toward
outdoor play for effective learning. The study is also significant to the
educational system and curriculum developer. This is because when teachers
blend their teaching with outdoor play activities and the learners learn
effectively, the knowledge acquired will reflect in the society positively.
This study could help the Ministry of Education to understand the
importance of outdoor play and it will be useful in formulating policy for the
improvement of resources in academic environment. It would provide useful
information upon format and types of resources to be design develop and
recommend to the schools. Furthermore ,this study would greatly assist
researchers who might want to conduct similar studies in future on this
concept, thus contributing to the existing body of knowledge and also serve as
reference material for further research.
Click “DOWNLOAD NOW” below to get the complete Projects
FOR QUICK HELP CHAT WITH US NOW!
+(234) 0814 780 1594
Login To Comment