Physical play - how do we inspire and motivate young children to be physically active through play? : an international analysis of twelve countries’ national early years curriculum policies and practices for physical activity and physical play
Howells, K., Jerebine, A., Cools, W., D'Hondt, E., De Martelaer, K., Coppens, E., Sienaert, H., Hall, N., Dong, J., Soini, A., O'Keefe, C., Coulter, M., McNally, S., McCaffrey, P., Tortella, P., Costa, A. M., Hernández-Martinez, A., Sollerhed, A.-C., Urtel, M., . . . Sääkslahti, A. (2023). Physical play - how do we inspire and motivate young children to be physically active through play? : an international analysis of twelve countries’ national early years curriculum policies and practices for physical activity and physical play. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 12(1), 253-276. https://journal.fi/jecer/article/view/116879
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Journal of Early Childhood Education ResearchAuthors
Date
2023Discipline
Hyvinvoinnin tutkimuksen yhteisöLapset, perheet ja sosiaalinen kestävyysVarhaiskasvatusLiikuntapedagogiikkaSchool of WellbeingSocial Sustainability for Children and FamiliesEarly Childhood EducationSport PedagogyCopyright
© 2023 Kristy Howells, Alethea Jerebine, Wouter Cools, Eva D’Hondt, Kristine De Martelaer, Eline
Coppens, Helena Sienaert, Nathan Hall, Jinxia Dong, Anne Soini, Christina O’Keeffe, Maura Coulter, Sinéad
McNally, Patricia McCaffrey, Patrizia Tortella, Aldo M. Costa, Andrea Hernández-Martinez, Ann-Christin
Sollerhed, Mark Urtel, Debra Vinci, Christopher Wirth, Carla Vidoni, and Arja Sääkslahti.
Lifelong movement and physical activity (PA) patterns develop during early childhood. Therefore, educators (teachers and practitioners) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) should provide opportunities to support children’s play, PA, and movement development. The World Health Organization (2019) offers new recommendations for PA, for children under five years. The guidelines do not specify the ways ECEC staff can support PA through play. Therefore, this paper investigates, how physical play (PP) is enacted globally. An international policy and practice analysis of twelve countries, (Australia [Victoria], Belgium [Flanders], Canada [Alberta], China, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK [England] and USA) was completed by analyzing the ECEC curricula and their implementation in different cultural contexts. A content analysis was undertaken by AIESEP Early Years SIG experts revealing that PP was not clearly defined. When defined, it was described as PA, and important for children’s holistic development. The majority of curricula did not state the length/time for PP. Three main strategies for implementing PP were found: a) pedagogical framework; b) active learning methods; and c) motor development. This international analysis highlights the global need for better ECEC staff support in acknowledging and implementing PP to aid children’s overall development, PA and wellbeing.
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Suomen varhaiskasvatus ryISSN Search the Publication Forum
2323-7414Keywords
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https://journal.fi/jecer/article/view/116879Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/182274725
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- Kauppakorkeakoulu [1378]
- Liikuntatieteiden tiedekunta [3158]
Additional information about funding
We wish to express gratitude to AIESEP for enabling the Early Years SIG to flourish. We thank all 12 countries for their contribution to the pre-seminar and for their support and contributions.License
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