Exploring Early Childhood Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives on Children and Play-centered Approach through Their Journal Writing

Abstract

The current study explored early childhood pre-service teachers’ perspectives on children and play-centered approach through their practicum experiences. Fifty pre-service teachers participated in this study, and their daily journals were collected. Among their journals, contents related to children and/or play-centered approach were only selected for this study and used in-vivo coding so that their voices would be reflected. Findings include experiencing child diversity, returning to their childhood while playing with children, being encouraged by children’s positive reactions, and being confused by children’s unexpected responses. Regarding play-centered approach, pre-service teachers were worried about how to apply play-centered approach in their teaching, satisfied when they observed children’s play, which was a well-reflected play-centered approach, and disappointed when they had not observed play-centered approach in their practica. Based on these findings, discussions and implications were proposed for teacher preparation programs.