CHAPTER - 2

REVIEW OF LI'iERATURE

Play currently received the attention of researchers who are

investigating the relationship of play to cognitive language, social

and gross motor development. The researchers were also becoming

aware of an ability to manipulate the quality and quantity of certain

types of play through environmental adjustments.

Even though limited studies were found on play and play

activities of pre-school children an attempt was made to bring some

relevant studies undertaken. To improve the clarity, the available

related literature regarding play in pre-school children were grouped

under the different following heads.

1. Play and its significance

2. Play for allround development.

3. Play styles and gender

4. Play as therapy for pre-school children.

5. Status of play in pre-schools.

6. Play and pre-school teachers.

7. Parent's expectations of play in pre-school education.

8. Value of play equipment

1. PLAYAND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Play is of great importance in the life of every child. Need for

play is an universal phenomenon. As Day (1984) and Chowdhury

(1984), pointed out play is an indispensable activity for children,

accepted as such by society since the dawn of mankind. Play as a

topic of research seem to be of interest since 17th century. Several

Western and Indian philosophers emphasized the importance of play

for children. It is worthwhile to mention here the views of some of

the educational philosophers towards preschool curriculum and

importance of play in curriculum.

Western Educators
Comenius (IFh Century)

Comenius emphasized the need for shorter school hours, more

play, sound health, better bodily development and less strain. He

wanted the spirit of play to permeate the school subjects. He

suggested that the children should be given tools and allowed to

imitate different handicrafts by playing at farming, at politics, a t

being soldiers or architects etcetera.

Basedow (17th Century)

Basedow, the philanthropists work was well recognised. The

children and their teachers worked and played together from

morning till night. One most important thing to remember about

the philanthrinium was that within it's walls education was fun.

The children were not aware that their school days stretched from

dawn to eve because they were constantly engaged in play activities

and their learning was so incidental that they hardly noticed it.

Basedow's basic principle was that all education should be a means

of pleasant and entertaining play. He tried to introduce three

elements of play in to school work. He made education pleasant and

amusing. He presented work in game form. He banned all memory

work during child hood except by means of games.

Pestalozzi (1746-1827) (18th Century)

Pestalozzi took a singular pleasure in watching the games of

his pupils, which he considered of very great importance. His idea

being that children when not at work ought to enjoy themselves and

that a state of total inactivity was bad both physically and morally.

If he noticed a child taking no part in the game during play timc, he

could seldom rest till he had tried to find him some other

amusement.

Froebel(1782-1860) (18th Century)

According to him play was the most spiritual activity of man

during childhood and at the same time, typical of human life aa a

whole - of the inner hidden natural life in man and in all things. It

gave therefore joy, freedom, contentment inner and outer, rest and

peace with the world. It holds the sources of all that ia good. A child
18
that played thoroughly with self active determination perseveringly

until1 physical fatigue forbids will surely be a thorough determined

man capable of self - sacrifice for the promotion of the weifare of

himself and others. The play of childhood were the germinal leaves

of all later life for the whole man developed and shown in his

tenderest dispositions in his inner most tendencies. If the child was

injured at this period and the germinal leaves of the future tree of

his life were marred at this time, he will only with the greatest

difficulty and utmost effort grow in to strong manhood.

Indian Educators

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Education must be gradual and progressive growth of an

organism - a child grows as an organism grows. Education in his

school began with training of instincts and emotions and in self

reliance and communal operations, then art, music and play were

introduced. His methods of teaching included Peripatetic method,

Activity method and Environmental approach. He was convinced

that in early years the child should arrive at truth through natural

process spontaneously by coming in to contact with things and

persons. This would pave the way for the widest possible

development of child's interests. Learning for the child should be

essentially, active and joyful.

Jiddu Krishnamurthy (1894 - 1973)

The basic theme of his educational phiiosophy was that

children are not be fed on other ideas, dogmas sayings, beliefs,

slogans and quotes. The present system of education according to

him has some inherent drawbacks. It does not awaken the

integrated intelligence of the child. It encouraged him to conform

to a rigid system. He aimed that education is not to acquire

knowledge and correlate it with other aspects of life. Education

should prepare the chlld for life as a whole. The right kind of

education should encourage thoughtfulness and concern for

others.

Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950)

His philosophy of education aims at all round development,

drawing out of what is best in a child. Education according to him

included education of the senses, education of body, education of

mind, moral education and religious education. He is against

teaching by snippets. He does not favour introduction of several

subjects at the early state. The chief aim of education should be able

to help the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best

and make it perfect for a noble use.

Zakir Hussain (1897-1969)

The aim of education according to him was emotional

integration. Education instead of being bookish, should become an

integral part of the personality. The teacher should not merely be a

source of knowledge, rather she should be a source of love and

affection. The school should function as a society. He also gave

his ideas about the use of instructional materials at the pre-school

stage.

Western and Indian philosophers have all stressed the

importance of play in preschool ae a natural occupation of childhood

and as an instrument of learning. Montessori described the child at

play a s being in complete harmony with the basic law of endless

activity which manifests itself in every aspect of nature. Play, by

offering opportunities for success, could be the most powerful agent

in bolstering self confidence and nurturing a positive self concept.

Those early pioneers in the development of educational theory,

Froebel and Pestallozi were both especially sensitive to the

importance of role of play in the early childhood and advocate for

the systematic use of play as part of child rearing and educational

practices (Nair, 1984). Thus play was a spontaneous, voluntary, self

directed activity with out any external compulsions.

 If human development was the key to economic development,
child development was the key to human development Rohatgi

(1981). Play was the child's way of learning and developing at his

own rate and in his own manner (Saroja, 1980).

Play represented a window to the child's mind. It was an

inner expression of the inner drama of the mind and the child

discovered how to use the world for his own purposes (Courtenry,

1983). Play was very essential for children because it was through

play that they gain mastery over diflicult concepts such as counting,

adding and multiplying (Muralidharan, 1980; Butler, 1981; Wolf,

1989 and Mowla, 1990).

For a chlld, play was work, he put as much energy, ingenuity

and concentrat~onin h ~ play

s as an adult ctocs lnto his work. Ills

fclt th;ll
lnvolvernent In play was so complcte that 1n:tny author~l~cbs

play was the most direct route to learning (Slnghirni, I!tXcj).

Malani (1984) rightly commented that play which was the

right of every child, was an essential input for the proper growth and

development of the child. During the pre-school years, the child

masters all the skills he requires for adult activities and he will do

this almost entirely through play. (Piers, 1980; Kaplan, 1981 and

Hart, 1985). The importance of play lies in the fact that it gave

maximum opportunities for the expression of freedom and creativity.

(Segal, 1981).

22
 An exploratory study of play preferences of pre-school children

in Delhi was conducted by Muralidharan and Benerji (1972). The

sample consisted of 68 children attending pre-school. Observation

technique was used for five days after giving same type of equipment

to all the children. They found that the slides, sandpit and nesting

frames were most popular in out door play. The least popular were

ball, ring, see-saw and jungle gym. Regarding indoor play activities,

crayon drawing and brush painting were found to be most popular.

Block play, paper cutting and collage work was preferred by younger

boys and girls. Beads and constructive materials, puzzles, sorting

materials were found to draw little attention fiom the younger

groups. Number cards, blocks and water play aroused minimum

interest.

Rubin and Waston (1978) conducted a study on free play

behaviours in pre-school and kindergarten children. The sample size

was 15 male and 12 female children in pre-school group and 14 male

and 14 female children in kindergarten. The study revealed that

kindergarten children displayed unoccupied, onlooker, solitary and

functional activity and more group and dramatic play than pre-

schoolers. Examination of the combined pattern on play scale

revealed, preschoolers differed in and choose sigmficantly more

solitary, functional and parallel functional play. Children

participated in less parallel constructed, parallel dramatic and

group dramatic play than their kindergarten counter parts.

 Smith and Dutton (1979) have undertook a study on the

relative importance of play opportunities and training experience for

problem - solving in 4 years old children. The children who had

play opportunities were faster than those who lacked training

experience in solving the problems and needed fewer hints. Both set,

of children did better than control children without additional pre-

task experience.

Space arrangements in pre-schools were important to children

to facilitate behavioural changes. This was studied by Sharon

and Sue (1979). On play behaviour of pre-school children in low and

high quality space arrangements a t three places. 11 two year oldu,

14 three year olds, and 14 four year olds were observed during the

first phase in one of three class rooms determined to be low space

quality. Twenty behavioural samples for each ch~ldwcre collected

and recorded in the following categories; slze of the room, child-child

interaction, teacher-child ~nteraction, level of involvement with

materials, and location of play in or out of designated arcas. D u r i n ~

the second phase, the room was arranged to achieve a high quality

space rating, with 20 more behavioural samples per child being

collected in the same manner as before. The third phase consisted of

a return to the low quality space condition, with observations again

being made for each child. Results indicated that room arrangement

did facilitate some changes In children's behaviour, specifically in

24
the category of child-child interaction, there were more verbal

interactions, and less on looking and non-interactive behaviour in

the high quality conditions than in the low quality conditions.

In the category of teacher-child interaction, children were

found to be in a group talking to the teacher more in the high quality

condition than in the low quality condition. There were more

instances of equipment being used in its designated location in the

high quality space arrangement than in the low quality space

arrangement. In terms of involvement with materials, children were

found to use more constructive behaviour in the high quality

conditions. There was significantly less deviant and random

behaviour in the high quality space, as compared to the low quality

conditions. Interactions effects and age a s a factor were reported in

all instances except for level of involvement with materials and use

of materials in or out of designated areas. These findings have led to

the conclusion that teachers can alter children's social interactions

and involvement with materials by manipulating the over all space

quality of a classroom.

Green wood (1981) observed four hundred and sixty one

children (aged three years to seven years eleven months) during

thirty minutes play periods and their activity was compared to

information supplied by their teachers concerning their social

interactive behaviour, pre-school experience and demographic

25
variables. No effects were found for prior pre-school experience.

Topographic analysis indicated that even the lowest interactor in the

sample received and reciprocated interactive bids a t a high

probability level, demonstrating the power of peer social interactions

to produce reciprocal responding. Low interaction and females

typically received more initiations than they made to peers.

Constructive and cognitive play influenced high creativity

in children and problem solving behaviour, this was studied by

Pepler and Ross (1981). They demonstrated a distinction between

convergent problems, which have only one correct solution, and

divergent problems, which have multiple solutions. They found that

playing with puzzle pieces and form boards led to better solving of

convergent puzzle problems. Non - task related, divergent play

(Playing with puzzle pieces as if they were blocks) tpnded to

interfere with the solutions of puzzle tasks. Divergent play did,

however, resulted in a wider variety of problem - solving strattgieu

and facilitated the solving of divergent problem8 such a s using

blocks to build a make believe village.

Vendenberg (1981) examined the impact of differing play

environments, a s well a s cognitive and social egocentrism factors, on

the social play of twenty eight children, of forty-sixty three months

old pre-schoolers. Subjects were allowed free access to two distinctly

different environments containing play materials aimed at

26
exercising either big or fine muscle coordination. Subjects cognitive

abilities and social egocentrism were also measured. Results

indicated that the play environment strongly influenced type of

social play as well as size of the play groups. Differences in cognitive

level and social egocentrism strongly influenced subjects choice of

environment suggesting an organism - environment interaction in

their social play.

Developmental features of children's play with objects was

studied by Vandenberg (1981). In this study five years to ten years

old were given open-ended play materials, and aspects of their play

such as type of material used, types of constructions, and duration of

play were scored. Subjects aged four to five years of age made

several simple constructions using few materials and made little

attempt to integrate desperate types of materials in their

constructions. Subjects aged six to seven years of age made

constructions using more of the materials. Subjects of eight to ten

years made fewer but much more extensive constructions and

integrated desperate types of materials.

Fahndrich and Schncider (1987) conducted a study on

emotional reactions of pre-school children while exploring and

playing with a novel object. They observed forty two children

ranging in age from three years six months to six years two month,

while exploring and playing with a novel object in their pre-schools

for fifteen minutes. Video recordings were made of the subjects

gross motor behaviour and facial movements. Results showed that

interest and joy were the most prominent emotional reactions during

both activities and there was no difference in the amount of interest

shown as measured by facial expression between two activities and

subjects exhibited more joy during play than during explorations.

Another study by Mounts and Roopnarine (1987) observed six

class rooms of three and four years old. Overall there was a decrea-sc

in functional play and an increase in dramatic play and games with

rules over this period. Although there was a decrease in parallel

constructive play, there was increase in solitary constructive play

and associative constructive play such that overall constructive play

did not change in frequency greatly.

As for influence of age on type of play, Takhvar (I!)H7)

observed eight children for four 20 minutes period a week over a

nine month period. The children were aged three and a half to four

a t the start of the observation. Functional play showed a consistent

decrease in occurrence for all the children. Constructive play

showed a n increase in six of the eight children during the last two

months while dramatic play increased in three of the eight children.

Five of the children showed opposite changes in constructive and

dramatic play, three showed similar changes for the two categories.

28
 Baruah and Baruah (1998) conducted a study on "Play

activities of pre-school children in East Siang district of Arunachal

Pradesh. 120 pre-school children in the age group of 3-6 years were
selected for the study. The study attempted to find out the play

activities enjoyed by children and also to find out rural, urban

differences in their play activities. The results of the study showed

that rural children enjoyed Gee and spontaneous play having roles

laid by themselves while urban children played with toys and made

appointments before play. Parents of urban children provided new

toys and helped in handling them. Rural parents helped in preparing

play materials from indigenous materials. Teacher's were not aware

of the importance and need of play in the school curriculum.

A study by Kaur (1992) revealed that children in rural areas

engaged predominantly in informal games followed by games with

rules and work cum play. Children often played outside home, on

farms, road sides, school grounds, in and near rivulets with play

differences among boys and girls and school going and non school

going children.

Longitudinal study in play performance would give more clear

picture about impact of play on children's performance. Lenzen

(1999) exploratively investigated play performance in structured

materials (blocks, legos and carpentry) and its relationship to later

school success in mathematics. This longitudinal study began in

1982 with 37 four years old participants. They were selected from

the same pre-school program where they had daily opportunities to

play with construction materials. The participants were assessed in

their play using the Lunzer five point scale in several different kinds

of play including blocks, legos and carpentry. Results of the study

showed that in the early grades and elementary grades, there was

little significance found between a participants play performance

and mathematical acluevement.

Lobo and Lily (2003) examined the use of pedometry to

evaluate the physical activity levels among pre-school children in

Hong Kong. The sample consisted of 86 boys and 62 girls of age

group three, four and five years. The Digi-walker Sw-200 electronic

pedometers were utilized to collect activity data d u r ~ n gdaily regular

physical activities in three pre-schools. School 'A' was located in

rural area, whlle schools B and C were localed in urban areas. An

observation inventory, children activity r a t ~ n gscale (CARS), were

used to categorize the intensity level of the physical activities and to

validate the pedometer counts. Results of the study indicated that

A two (gender) X three (age groups) analy~isof variance indicated

that both main effects were statistically eignificant. Older children

in the school (School A) with a larger outdoor space in a rural

district, were much more active than counter parts in urban schools

(Schools B and C) with limited outdoor space.

 In the selection of the sample if the researchers had taken two

rural schools one with larger space and the other with smaller space

for comparison with the two urban schools probably it would have

given better results.

Kara, Kim, Sook, Whiren and Alice (2003) studied the effect of

verbal scaffolding on the complexity of pre-school children's block

constructions. The study had three goals. The first was to

investigate vygotsky's theory in action in the area of block play

specially to determine the effect of adult use of verbal scaffolding on

the structural complexity of children's block construction. The

second goal was to establish a more comprehensive measure for the

complexity of children's block structures. The third goal was to

further establish support for the levels of complexity reported as

stages, arches and dimensionality. Subjects were fifty pre-schoolers

aged 38-71 months in both the experimental and control groups.

Results provided support Vygotsky's proposition that learning leads

to performance and perhaps might also lead to development. When

paired with a more knowing adult, children were able to use higher

levels of complexity in their block structures over all and in the area

of dimensionality.

From the above cited relevant studies it was observed that

functional play, constructive play and dramatic play categories

were more important measures of intelligent and conversation

ability. All these had a positive correlation with pre-school children's

achievement and intelligence.

After considering the significant value of play in the pre-

school children some of the related studies on play with regard to all

round development of the children were listed below.

2. PLAYFOR ALLROUND DEVELOPMENT

Jefrey, Dansky and Silver man (1973) studied effects of

play on associative fluency in pre-school children. The sample

consisted of 90 pre-school subjects from two pre-schools. The

children were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions, such

as play, imitation and control. The findings supported the

hypothesis that playful activity can facilitate associative fluency.

In yet another study, Muralidharan and ot,hcrs (1083)

investigated whether language and cognitive skills could be

inculcated among tribal children by the use of pictures, songs and

games. This study was conducted in Tokapal of Madhyapradesh.

Another objective of the study was to know whether Anganwadi

workers show interest in promoting pre-school education through

learning activities organized around locally developed pictures songs

and games. The sample consisted of twelve anganwadis randomly

selected out of the 62 in the Tokapal project under the ICDS scheme.
The actual intervention ranged from 7 to 11 weeks. Results.showed

that the intervention with experimental group had been a definite

advantage, consequent on the intervention, the test scores of the

experimental group were consistently higher than those of the

control group. The results have not been surprising and were

keeping in with studies in other social settings with adequate

planned interaction. Children gained remarkably in language and

cognitive development through interactions.

Playful precursors of problem solving in pre-schoolers was

studied by Cheyne and Rubin (1983). In this study an analysis was

made on object play components, to determine whether the specific

skills evidenced in the combinational activity of play and / or the

flexible set suggested by the use of fantasy were related to

performance on a problem solving task. The sample consisted of

76 female and 64 male pre-school children. They were permitted to

play for 8 minutes with a number of sticks of varying length and

with a number of blocks. A subset of these materials was

subsequently made available in a problem solving session in

which solution could be achieved by joining sticks to create a tool

to retrieve a lure. Results indicated that play served to create

specific skills as well as a flexible set for innovative thinking and

problem solving.
 Leonard, Stacie and Ann (2002) examined group trajectories of

pre-school children's non social play. Three types of pre-school

children's non social play, solitary passive play, solitary active play

and un-occupied behaviours were examined in the study. The

sample consisted of 167 children (86 boys and 81 girls).

Trajectories were compared to static measures of non social play to

determine if children's patterns of play overtime were driven by

the individual differences (i.e., gender, anxiety, regulatory ability)

that have been shown to be associated with non social play in cross

sectional studies. The results indicated that anxious boys used

solitary passive play as coping mechanism to ease social fears,

where as anxious girls tended to regulate their social fears by

remaining on the periphery of social interaction. Those childrtw

engaged in relatively high levels of solitary pi1sslvc play and

unoccupied behaviours were rated as sign1ficantly less popular

than their peers, who were engaged in moderstc or low Irvcls of

these types of play. Solitary active play appeared to be a sign of

social immaturity a t low and moderate levels and an indicator of

poor regulating ability for girls and anxiety for boys when

displayed a t relatively high levels.

The use of play assessment to evaluate the cognitive skills of

two and three year old children was studied by Vance, Ryails,

Brigette, Katrina and Gill (2002). This study explored the use of

34
play assessment with young children to determine its efficacy in

assessing cogmtive levels of development. The sample consisted of

eight 2- years old and eight 3%years old playing in an unstructured

format. Results indicated that exploratory play became more

complex with age and was displayed more than pretend play. In an

unstructured play session, children's play primarily consisted of

exploratory play, pretend play and problem solving and planning

skills. Several of the supplemental sub domains measured by play

assessment were observed not to occur in the spontaneous play

format. Results of this nature cannot be generalized as the sample

was very small.

The impact of peer mediated intervention on pre-school

children's participation in routine child care activities was

investigated by the Robertson, Green, Alper, Schloss and Koher

(2003) targeted three skills for intervention for two children with

reported developmental delays, including engaged on task

behaviour, interactive play with other children, and appropriate

participation in circlelstory time. Results indicated that a peer-

mediated intervention consisted of songs and finger plays, attention

to photographs of children displayed desired behaviours and peer

verbal cues were effective in increasing each of these skills. Further,

both children continued to perform their newly learned skills for up

to six weeks after the termination of intervention. Observations

indicated that both peer trainee exhibited high levels of appropriate

behaviour through out the study. Taking only two children as

sample for the study seems to be inadequate and conclusions drawn

on such a sample could not be considered and studies of this nature

need to be replicated with large sample.

The relation between multiple forms of solitary play and

convergent and divergent thinking skills in pre-school children was

examined by Bronmweri and Nin (2003).The sample consisted of

72 pre-school children, 42 boys and 30 girls in the age group of 4.5

years. Social and cognitive play types and use of materials were

recorded. Children were administered the Thinking Creatively in

Action and Movement test (TCAM) Vorrance, 1981) to nssees

divergent thinking and the PPVT test and the picture completion

subtest WISC-R to measure convergent thinking. h s u l t s ind~cateti

that reticent behaviour was more strongly negatively associated

with convergent and divergent thinking than either solitary - active

or solitary - Passive play, whereas solitary-active play was more

strongly positively related to divergent thinking. Recommendations

were made for supporting solitary play in the early childhood

classroom.
 Perhaps more number of such studies are required in

different environments and even among different ethnic groups

with larger sample to recommend solitary play in the classrooms.

Pre-schoolers emotional competence links to pretend and

~hysicalplay was studied by Indsey and Colwelt (2003), with a

sample of 44 pre-school children. The children participated in

emotion understanding interviews. Mothers rated children's emotion

regulation ability and teacher's rated children's emotional

competence with peers. In addition, the amount of children's pretend

and physical play during same sex dyadic play with a friend from

their pre-school classroom was assessed. Findings suggested that

emotion regulation and emotion understanding make unique

contributions to teacher ratings of children's emotional competence

with peers. However different patterns of association were found for

boys and girls. Results indicated that children's emotional

competence with peers might account for association between

children's play and quality of peer relationships.

Peer play interaction was found to demonstrate more

competent emotional regulation, initiation and self determination.

In a study Fantuzzo, Sekino and Cohen (2004), reported the

contributions of interactive peer play to salient classroom

competencies for urban head start children. Dimensions of peer

play were examined concurrently with emotion regulations,

37
autonomy, and language. Children exhibiting high levels of peer
play interaction were found to demonstrate more competent

emotional regulation, initiation, self determination and receptive

vocabulary skills. Positive engagement in play in the early years

were associated with lower levels of aggression, shy withdrawn and

adjustment problems, at the end nf the year. Children who

successfully interacted with peers early in the year evidenced

greater social, cognitive and movement I co-ordination outcomes.

Disruptive and disconnected peer play behaviours were associated

with negative emotional and behavioural outcomes.

Gagnon, Glover and Richard (2004) studied the relationships

between peer interactive play and social competence in a sample of

85 pre-school children who were considered a t risk of academic

difficulties. Ratings of peer interactive play and social emotional

development were collected from parents and tcacher'ti on the penn

interactive peer play scale and (PIPPS) Vineland soc~al,emotional

maturity scale. Multivariate analysis techniques revealed significant

correlation between parent and teachers ralings on the measures.

b s u l t s were discussed within the context of conducting

multifaceted, ecological assessments of pre-school children.

Implications for school psychologists were noted with regard to the

important associations between peer interactive play and social

emotional developments.
 In the light of above reported studies, it was observed that

play influenced all areas of development like intellectual, social,

emotional and physical activities. Play was not only an enjoyable

pursuit, but it was also an important device by which children

practice skills, solve problems, socialize, co-operate, discover,

communicate and exercise all the essential abilities, which were to

be developed in childhood.

Studies related to play styles, gender of pre-school children

were listed hereunder.

3. AND GENDER
PLAY STYLES

Alexander and Hines (1994) studied gender labels and play

styles and their relative contribution to children's selection of play

mates. The relative contribution of gender labels and play styles in

playmate selection was evaluated in 60 children between the ages of

4 and 8 years using a novel interview measure. Results indicated

that when target gender labels and target play styles were

presented as competing dimensions, boys of all ages chose female

targets with masculine play styles over male targets with female

play styles. In contrast, younger girls (4-5 years old) chose female

targets with masculine play styles while older girls (6-8years old)

chose male targets with female play styles.

 Faber, Martin and Laura (2003) studied children's play

qualities in same- other and mixed sex peer groups. It was

examined how children's play varied as a function of the sex of the

chdd, the sex of the play partner and whether they played in dyads

or groups. The sample consisted of 203 children (97 boys and 106

girls) with mean age of 52 months. They were observed during

free play. Findings confirmed that ch~ldren'sexperiences in peer

groups varied depending on the sex of the child and sex of the play

partners.

In another study, Neppl, Tricia and Kay (1997) investigated

gender differences, social dominance and co-operation in play anlong

pre-schoolers. They wanted to find out the effect on social

dominance when boys and girls play with same and cross gender

play materials. The sample consisted of 90 children in the age

group of 4 and 5 paired into either girl girl, girl-boy and boy-boy

dyads engaged in both a traditionally masculine (cow boy ranch)

and feminine (doll house) stereo typed activity. Ibsults for social

dominance found that children who have a dominant personal~tyled

children with low personality dominance during play. Also when

girls paired with boys girls led more during the feminine than the

masculine activity. Social interactions revealed that girls had

higher amount of co-operative play than boys. While boys had high

parallel play than girls. Also children with both same and mixed

gender pairing displayed more co-operation than in parallel play.

 The conclusion on the above mentioned studies is that children

experiences in peer groups varied depending on the gender of the

child and gender of the play partners.

Along with the general effects, researchers were also

interested in finding out the impact of play therapy on the children

with behaviour problems. Studies related on this topic were listed

hereunder.

4. PLAYAS THERAPY
FOR PRESCHOOL
CHILDREN

Not only social psychologists but also Pediatricians accepted

the importance of play in pre-school children in addressing their

behaviour problems. One such study was undertaken by Miho and

Akira (2002). They observed the pre-schooler's aggressive

behaviour in free play in relation to gender and peer group status.

The sample consisted of 16 boys and 18 grls in the age group of four

and five years old pre-schoolers. The pre-schoolers were observed in

a natural setting for one year. A total of 160 aggressive

behaviours were observed and classified in to 3 categories;

Proactivelovert aggression, instrumentau bullying and relational

aggression. Results showed that boys showed more proactive) overt

aggression and instrumental / bullying aggression than girls. While

girls showed more relational aggressive behaviour than boys. In

addition, children were aggressive according to the peer group

41
 p+gLj-+p
status. Children who were classified as 'nuclear' in their peer group

had higher frequencies of relational aggressive behaviour. Children

who were other wise classified as 'isolated' suffered more than others

from relational aggression.

P l a y . was critical component of pre-school children

development for children with autism. Restricted play skills

eliminate common tools needed to build independent performance

and peer relationships. A study was initiated by Morrison, Sainato,

Bencheeban, Delia and Endosayaka (2002) to improve the

independent performance of pre-schoolers with autism during

playtime in an inclusive setting. A multiple baseline design across

subjects were employed to determine the effectiveness of

correspondence training and activity schedules on thc on-task and

play correspondence behaviour of four pre-schoolers with autism

aged 42-70 months. Partial interval recording was used to measure

on task behaviour and experimental prompts, where NY a frequency

count was used for on schedule behaviour. Results indicated that

four participants on task and play correspondence behaviour

increased while experimental prompts gradually decrea~ed.

The identification of efficient teaching procedures to address

deficiencies in imaginative play skills which were commonly seen in

children with autism, was a challenge for professionals who were

/ I

6Ys
' I ; ,,
42 If, I%?
designing treatment programs. In a study conducted by

Alenopatrica, Parello, Kathleen, Taylor (2002), video modelling was

used to teach play skills to a pre-school child (female aged 3 years

and eight moths) with autism. Video taped play sequences included

both verbal and motor responses. A multiple base line procedure

across three response categories (tea party, shopping and banking)

were used to demonstrate experimental control. No experimenter

implemented reinforcement or correction procedures were used

during the intervention. Results indicated that the video modelling

intervention led to the rapid acquisition of both verbal and motor

responses in all play sequences. This procedure was shown to be

an efficient technique for teaching relatively long sequence of

responses in relatively few teaching sessions in the absence of

chaining procedures. More such experiments were required on more

number of autistic children to confirm the findings of this study.

Lawrence and Karen (2002) studied care giver and peer

responses to children with language and motor disabilities in

inclusive pre-school programs. The free play social behaviours of

24 children (Aged 30-6.1 months) with special needs in two

discovery - oriented inclusive pre-school programs were compared

with twenty four of their typically developing classmates (age 30-

58 months) who were matched by age and sex. Subjects with special
needs consisted of children with developmental delays and other

disabilities. Subjects were videotaped atleast three times for

approximately twenty minutes each and video's were coded. Results

showed that subjects who used little or no productive language

spent more time in solitary pursuits. They seldom initiated

interactions and when they did, used different strategy than other

groups. Subjects who were incapable of independent locomotion

were largely dependent on adults for initiating changes in their

activities and for social exchanges.

Improving social communication skills of pre-school children

a t risk in a play context was examined by Unkefer and Kaiser

(2002) to find out the effects of a three component intervention on

the social communicative interactions of a six pre-school children

with in the age group of three years five months and three years

one month, a t risk for language delays and behaviour problems. In a

multiple baseline design across three dyads, children wcre taught Lo

(1) plan their play (2) use conversational social interaction

strategies and (3) self evaluate their play interactions. The number

of social communicative behaviours by each chld increased following

introduction of the intervention condition as did their use of

descriptive and request utterances during play sessions. Increase

in linguistic complexity, diversity, and play complexity also were

associated with the intervention. Results suggeated that this

44
intervention hold promise for improving social, linguistic and play

behaviours in pre-schoolers at risk for language delays and

behaviour problems.

Halstadtro and Halstadro (2003) investigated training play

behaviour in a five year old boy with developmental disabilities.

The purpose of the study was two fold (a) To investigate if it was

possible to train three different games (both as a leader and a s

participant) to a child with developmental disabilities through

interaction with four typically developing peers and (b) To

examine if correct response would be maintained after the training

stopped. A multiple probe design across three games were used.

The results showed that the child learned both skills as a leader and

as a participant in all the three games and the skills were

maintained for a period of three weeks after the training had

stopped.

From the above cited related studies it was clear that play

served as therapy for behavioural problems in children like

aggression autism and with developmental disabilities. However

the samples used for study were very small. To draw definite

conclusions and to make generalizations, similar studies need to be

made using large samples.

 Since play had a vital role in allround development of the

pre-school chlld. Therefore related studies on play during pre-school

children and their status in pre-schools were listed below.

5. OF PLAY
STATUS IN PRESCHOOLS

Sharma (1970) studied the status of state run pre-schools

when compared to private run pre-schools in Punjab. The state run

pre-schools bear a close resemblance to privately run nursery

schools. When the study was conducted, in the whole of Punjab there

existed 4 nursery schools run by the government. When compared to

private schools there were no play grounds, no flowers, no grass, no

good drinking water or toilet facilities. The fee charged waa RR.201-

to 301- rupees per month. There was no set of syIIabus or courms.

Narayana Reddy (1973) studied the play prefcrcncen of prc-

school children in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. 120 pre-school

children were selected from two pre-schools with junior, senior and

pre- primary children, whose ages were four years, four and half

years and five years respectively. He found sex differences in

play preferences in plays like car riding, running, scooter riding,

cycle riding, sand and kitchen thngs. Influence of socio-economic

status of the children was observed on preferences of activities like

running race, scooter riding, horses and ducks, buses, piano and

cars. Age differences were also noted in play preferences of the

outdoor play libe scooter riding, slides, horses and ducks and balls.

Junior nursery school children preferred activities like solid

blocks, nest of boxes, sand tray, buses, toys and boats.

Dorothy (1974) in her article "The Day's child in school"

expressed that children of today were in danger. They were on the

one hand threatened by loss of feeling and imagination on the

other hand they were being drawn early in to initiative, mechanical

robot - like right answers that interfere with independent thinking.

The investigation of Kesavadas and Pavanasam (1978) was

an attempt to study the existing pattern and facilities of pre-

school education in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The findings

were based on information collected from 80, pre-schools. 50 run by

local bodies and 30 by private bodies. The findings indicated that

most of the pre-schools had maintained a teacher-child ratio of 1:40

to 1:50. Majority of the teachers studied up to SSC or Matriculation.

It was also found, that fifty percent of the schools have no

adequate space for both indoor and outdoor activities. The study

clearly indicated the poor condition of Pre-schools in all the aspects.

Sumathi (1979) conducted a critical survey of pre-schools in

Tirupati town. She found that 75 percent of schools were not having

adequate space. The school buildings were also very small. 62.5

percent of schools were not having any play equipment only 12.5 per
cent were having sufficient equipment. The remaining 25 percent

were having some small equipment like balls, rocking boards, old

tires etcetera. It was also found that many of the pre-schools were

not taking much interest in chddren's play and they aimed mainly

in inculcating discipline among the children

Elizabeth George (1989) conducted a survey in 10 schools in

Trichur district of Kerala. She pointed out that majority of pre-

schools and primary schools do not have adequate play equipment.

Those schools which do have play equipment are reluctant to let

the chddren play with them for the fear that the children may

damage the equipment. Majority of the teachers thought play as a

waste of time. Only one of the ten schools had proper play

equipment and let the children have free access to it. However,

the sample size is small. Studies on n larger sample help to

generalize the findings.

Godalakshmi (1991) evaluated pre-schools in Tirupati town

of Chittoor district. The sample consisted of 50 pre-schools. Including

one Laboratory nursery school and 200 mothers of pre-school

children. Pre-schools were evaluated in terms of physical set up,

curriculum, teacher-child ratio, management administrative

procedures and the relationship of the school with parents. The

information was collected through observation cum interview

schedule, questionnaire and pre-school evaluation scale. ,Results

indicated that majority of the pre-schools were not meeting the

developmental needs of the pre-school children. There seems no

difference between educated and uneducated mothers regarding

awareness of the importance of pre-school education in their child's

life. Both were ignorant. Facilities for both indoor and outdoor play

were absent in most of the pre-schools.

Studies Related to ICDS and Anganwadi

A pilot project was carried out in 1985 by NIPCCD to

construct and identify indicators relevant for monitoring the

ICDS program Thirteen blocks, seven urban, three rural and three

tribal were selected for the study. The study was carried out in

Kerala, Maharastra, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttarpradesh and

Delhi. The study revealed that a majority of Angawadis were

unsatisfactorily functioning with inadequate equipment for

teaching and playing.

Jain (1985) in his study of thirty eight anganwadi centres

selected at random in Garhi tribal block of Banswada district

concluded that most of the Anganwadis were running at

unsuitable places and physical environment was conducive for the

occurrence of communicable diseases. Majority of Anganwadi

workers were between 21 and 30 years of age group, 52.63% had

middle level education, 84.25%. Anganwadi workers belonged to

scheduled tribes and 63.15% worked purely for economic

compulsions. 37.7 percent of the centers were not provided any

utensils for cooking food and 57.9 per cent centers were not

having formal education kit. Record keeping was inadequate in

7.8 per cent or the centers. It was suggested that Anganwndi

centres should be well equipped with play material and stationary

etcetera. Regulation reorientation, replenishments and guided

supervision would go long way in the successful implementation of

the program.

NIPCCD (1987) conducted a study in Mangalpuri ICIIS project

to assess the implementation of pre-school educational component.

It reported that activities conducted by Anganwadi workers wrrc

not adequately stimulating and most of the Anganwadi workers

spent very little time in interacting with children in a

meaningful way.

A follow up study in 1988 also indicated that the Anganwadi

workers lacked appropriate shlls in utilising low cost locally

available materials for making aids to facilitate pre-school

activity. This necessitates awareness and training workahopa in

learning to prepare and utilize low cost indigenous play materiale.

 Ahuja (1988) in a study regarding Anganwadi workers

perception about the contribution made by the available play

materials to child's development observed that almost ninety six

percent of the workers thought that play materials only

contributed towards mental development of the children. But forty

six percent of the workers also felt that it helped both in mental

and physical development.

Several studies have been undertaken since the inception of

the ICDS programme to assess its impact on the targeted groups.

Among these, two recent and relatively -more comprehensive

reviews undertaken by National Institute of public co-operation

and child development (NIPCCD)in 1992 and National Council of

Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in 2001 highlighted the

benefits of the scheme and identified problems and bottle necks.

The overall findings of the NIPCCD report inlcated positive

impact on the health of the pre-school children particularly

immunisation, coverage and nutritional status. Approximately 89

per cent of children with pre-school continued to school as

compared to 52-60 percent of children with out pre-school

experience. The findings of the NCAER report were some what

different from the NIPCCD report as they highlighted that more

than 50% of the eligible children between 3-6 years of age were
51
enrolled for pre-school and of them only half have been retained.

The Incentive for the children to attend Anganwadis continue to be

the nutritional supplement. Scarce availability of play materials

and lack of trained Anganwadi workers have been identified a s

hindrances for the delivery of effective ECCE.

From the above cited studies it was clear that play was in

deporable state in majority of the pre-schools in India and most of

pre-schools have inadequate indoor and outdoor space and lack

physical facilities.

Even the physical facilities are inadequate a good teacher can

help chdd to get more benefit of the pre-school. The teacher in pre-

school should be adequately acquainted with the materials and

should possess teaching skills to cope with a rigidly structured

curriculum. Studies related to play and pre-school teachers were

listed hereunder.

6. PLAYAND PRESCHOOL
TEACHERS

Tiffany (1980) observed eighty white middle class three to

four years old in four day care classrooms varying in teacher-child

ratio b g h and low) and physical layout (large, open spacea

partitioned in to smaller special play area). Several child and

teacher behaviours, peer interactions and fantasy play in the

presence or absence of teachers who did or did not disrupt the

52
interactions were observed. Several sex and group differences

emerged, suggesting that the optimal classroom for facilitating

peer interactions and fantasy play among middle class pre-school

children in a classroom featuring a low teacher child ratio and

partitioned special play areas.

Joanson (1982) suggested that nursery school teachers tend

to intervene frequently in children's play in ways that were

concerned with intellectual development. Joanson suggested that

skilled adult interaction may facilitate and enhance the imaginative

quality of representational play. Skillful interaction required 3

kinds of relationship (incidental, instrumental and intrinsic)

between play and intellectual development. Two styles of

interaction, redirecting and extending styles synchronising with

children's intentions, were educationally profitable and at the

same time valued children's play in its own right.

Seshamma (1985) conducted a study to know the difference

in the attitude of pre-school teacher's towards play and find out

the facilities available in three different kinds of pre-schools. She

concluded that majority of the pre-school teacher's (97% of

Laboratory nursery school teacher's, 97% Anganwadi teachers and

93.8% other pre-school teacher's) felt that play was extremely

essential for the development of the child. Anganwadi workers

53
(80%) and Laboratory nursery school teacher's (100%) had positive

attitude towards organised play activities and play with water,

clay, sand and paints. However all the nursery school teachers had

a negative attitude towards organised play activities. Anganwadis

(93%), Laboratory nursery school (100%) and other pre-schools

(100%) had facilities for play activities associated with learning of

alphabets and numbers like arranging materials such as stones

along a line, educational IQ, watch ABC play, counting stones

without seeing etc.

Anuradha (1985) investigated the attitudes of pre-school

teacher's towards play in pre-school education programme. She

interviewed fifty six teachers belonging to three different types of

pre-schools like laboratory nursery school, Anganwadi centre^ of

ICDS and other private pre-schools. The results were compared

with the training of the teachers in the three different pre-schools.

She found that majority of the teacher's felt that play was

very essential for pre-school children irrespective of training of the

teachers and irrespective of the philosophy of the school. From the

data it was found that the teachers who expressed play as not

necessary haven't undergone any training but it does not seem to

be a reason for their opinion because other teachers who also have

not undergone any training expressed play a s essential component

in Pre-schools. Depending upon her findings she concluded that

neither the training nor the philosophy of the school makes the

teacher's feel play as essential but it is their opinion as individuals

depending upon their past childhood experiences.

Berg and Samuelsson (2003) studied pre-school teacher's play

experiences then and now. Many pre-school teacher's recognised

the importance of play for children's development and learning.

T h s study explored how teacher's remembered their own childhood

play and how they perceived children's play today. The sample

consisted of 20 pre-school teacher's. They were interviewed

regarding their views on play. Two perspectives were identified, the

idealized and the pragmatic. Findings suggested that the idealized

perspective was more common than the pragmatic among the pre-

school teacher's. Two different themes from childhood stand out as

significant in the comparison of play in the past to the role of play

today, time for play and the effect of media on play.

Virginia, Fantuzo and John (2003) examined whether the

Penn interactive peer play scale (PIPPS), a teacher rating

instrument of interactive play behaviours for early childhood was

valid for urban, low income children in kindergarten. The study

yielded three dimensions of interactive peer play, play interaction

and play disruption and play disconnection. These constructs

were congruent with the dimensions found for pre-school children.

Concurrent validity was demonstrated with a standardized

instrument assessing global social skills and academic competence.

Children who displayed highly interactive peer play were given high

ratings by teachers for social slulls and were ranked higher in the

class for academic competence. Those children who were disruptive

or disconnected in play were viewed by teacher's as having more

problem behaviours and had lower academic achievement as

compared to the peers. Results indicated children who were

reported by their teacher's to have effective peer interactions during

play had higher teacher ratings of academic success than children

who were considered disruptive or disconnected in play.

Prakash and Kavita (2003) explored the interface between

young children's socio emotional characteristics and the nature of

their interactions with teacher's. The sample consisted of 135 pre-

school children (62 males and 73 femaleti). Play behaviour was

observed during teacher's supervision of free play with peers.

Results indicated that children who most frequently initiated

interactions with teacher's were rated by the teacher's as being more

aggressive than their peers, In constrast, children who most

frequently received initiations form teachers were more shy and

anxious than their peers. Finally children who spent less time
with the teacher's were more sociable, less solitary, and evidenced

fewer behaviour problems than peers who interacted more

frequently with the teacher's. It is one interesting finding

suggesting less interaction of the Pre-school children with their

teachers was more beneficial to the child. More such studies were

required to confirm or to negate these findings.

Today through out the world education has become most

important input in the development of human resource and India

is no exception. Educational institutions from elementary schools to

Universities and Professional colleges are mushrooming through

out the country. Parents expectations on their children have

increased many folds and they believe that the Pre-schools lay the

foundation for their wards further education. Some studies

conducted regarding parental expectations from pre-school education

were reviewed below.

7. PARENTS OF PLAYI N PRE-SCHOOL

EXPECTATIONS EDUCATION

Suresh (1970) carried out a study on a group of twenty

parents to find out their opinion and expectations regarding pre-

school education. They were provided with six choices regarding

their expectations of children's achievement in pre-school.

Findings indicated that majority of the parents expressed that the

pre-school programme attended to the needs of the children. The

parents expected the child to be independent, able to count

numbers, acquire reading skills and also wanted their children to

learn indirectly from play. Most of the parents showed their

willingness to accompany the child to the pre-school in the beginning

and stay there if necessary.

Manjula (1973) enquired in to the attitude of the parents

towards pre-school education. For this study forty urban and ten

rural parents were selected. Results indicated that majority of the

parents gave top priority to strict discipline, obedience and were

interested in formal education. A few parents in the urban area

considered too much play was bad for pre-school children. Most of

the parents were positively disposed towards parents teachers co-

operation.

Sarala Kumari (1976) also conducted simllar ~ t u d y ,play -

preferences of nursery school children. The tichool selected for the

study was Sri Venkateswara University laboratory nursery school,

I'lrupati, Chittoor district. She found age and sex differences in the

play preference of pre-school children. Influence of socio-economic

status on play preference was also seen. Majority of the parent8

were providing opportunities to their children to play. Thua parent

child relationships were positive in encouraging the child to play.

 Masur and Gleason (1980) studied parent child interaction and

the acquisition of lexical information during play. Individual play

interactions of parents with their pre-school aged boys and girls

were examined to determine the ways mothers and fathers provided

and elicited lexical information about names and functions of the

parts of a complex toy car. The sample consisted of 14 pairs of

parents and their first born pre-school aged children, seven boys and

seven girls. Results indicated that parent child interaction during

play suggested that fathers as well as mothers may exert an active

and direct influence'on the language development of pre-school aged

girls and boys.

Sarada (1989) studied the opinions of mothers of pre-school

children towards play. The sample consisted of 200 private pre-

school children and their mothers. Interview schedule was used to

elicit opinion of the mothers. Results indicated that play was very

necessary for allround development of the child. Almost all the

mother's expressed that play was necessary for this age group. But

the knowledge about play and its relation in all around development

of the child, was very low among the less educated mothers. Where

as mothers with higher education were aware of the importance of

play in the lives of their children.

Julia and Livy (2003) investigated parental reports of pre-

school children's social behaviour, relations among peer play,

language competence and problem behaviour. A sample of 113 pre-

school children aged 33.4 and 67.2 months enrolled in a head

start program. Parent's and teacher's provided information on the

above mentioned three aspects. A subset of these children (n = 34)

who participated in a second year of this early intervention pre-

school ~rograrnwas assessed at Cmonths follow up. Correlationsl

analysis confirmed relations between parent ratings of play

behaviour and teacher ratings of play performance at time one.

Parent ratings of play were also related to assessments of children's

language competence at the beginning of the following school year

where a s parent ratings of problem behaviour were not related to

subsequent language competence. The findings provided additional

validity for a parent measure of school children's peer play and

support, the need for greater inclusion of parental assessment of

young children's social behaviour during early childhood.

8. VALUEOF PLAYEQUIPMENTAND MATERIALS

No studies have been found regarding the value of play

equipment and materials. However an attempt has been made

to summarize the opinions and views of different authors.

Young (1985) stated that play equipment and accessory toys

should help stretch growing musclee and imagination. Singh (1982)

pointed out that picture puzzles, or wooden blocks were essential for

developing creative and for ability and dolls or utensils for

60
dramatising adult life activities. Hammond (1985) remarked. that

puzzles provide opportunities for eye hand co-ordination, use of

small muscles, recognition of shape, colour and use of visual

memory. Puppetry had been found to be useful to restore self-

confidence, particularly among withdrawn children (Naid, 1984).

Children think, plan and create while playing. They learn in an

atmosphere of delight and pleasure. Riley (1983) com.mented that

play was the dynamic tool for learning, growing and the integration

of experiences. Through play children train themselves for useful

work when they grow up. Play was expected to help to build a

healthy figure and a sound mind. It was also essential for the

development of a normal, well adjusted personality.

Out door play equipment like jungle gym, slide, swing, rope

ladders, tricycle, bicycle and other outdoor play equipment helped

the pre-school children to develop large muscles through the

activities like running, jumping, hopping, skipping, swinging.

Indoor play equipment and materials like wooden or plastic

construction sets, threading beads, etc. helped in the development of

finer muscles. It helps in eye hand co-ordination. Play seemed

to help in the development of bones and internal organs.

Mohanty (1996).
 Play equipment like peg boards, hammer etc, helped to release

surplus energy. Play equipment and materials enabled the child to

learn shapes, sizes, colours, textures, numbers and qualities of

objects as well as their significance. Exploring, collecting and

experimenting with play things furnish the child with information

that cannot be obtained by any other means. (Vandenberg, 1981).

Play offers an outlet for the child to express his natural

instincts and emotions. It was vital in preparing small boys and

girls to be confident and to be able to express themselves. Toys serve

the purpose of companionship. Children had been known to sleep

with a well loved stuffed toy, just to keep some of their imagined

fears away from them. (Battacharya, 1985)

Play helps the child to comprehend and control the world in

which he lived and to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Play

was an activity which was all absorbing and was expected to give

pleasure and represented some degree of creativeness and was not

concerned with the attainment of an end result apart from the

activity it self. (Hurlock, 1986).

Muralidharan (1972) stated that play helped the child to

adjust in society. Through games with peers and adults, the child

learnt to give and take, co-operate, be tolerant and ultimately make

better soclal adjustment. Play has therapeutic value in that it acted

62
as a catharsis for the release of pent up feelings. Play therapy had

been employed in dealing with children's behaviour problems.

Autistic children have uttered their first words in response to the

tape-recorded conversations of a doll.

Play gave children a chance to be a good sport and helped

children learn to follow rules and to be a good loser or winner.

Exercise during play helped the children to develop good appetite

and sleep. (Devadass and Jaya, 1981).

Thus value of play in child's life was well recorded and it was

important part of the child's pre-school education. During pre-

school period, with play activities the child becomes very active and

energetic and likes to spend most of the time in pre-schools only.

Indoor and outdoor play material and equipment enables the child

to develop physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally in the

right path.

OVERVIEW

The review of extensive literature about play and its important

role in preschool children has made it possible to make certain

salient observations that would be used in proceeding further with

the investigation of present problem. Some studies used very small

number of subjects and some studies gave laborious observation

procedure. The following were the main observations of the above

reported studies.

Play serves to create specific skills for innovative thinking and

problem solving.

Exploratory play became more complex with age and was

displayed more than pretend play.

Play has been receiving the attention of researchers, who are

investigating the relationship of play to cognitive, language
and gross motor development.

Play equipment helped large growing muscles and

imagination.

Play was expected to help healthy body and sound mind and

well adjusted personality of the child.

The value of play cannot be over emphasized.

Play helped children to develop good appetite and sleep.

Children who had play opportunity, had expreusion for

freedom and creativity.

Availability of space improved child-child interaction.

Education and program in class room can influence play

development.

Constructive measures of play had a positive correlation.

Parents of urban children provided new toys where as rural
parents helped children in preparing play materials from
indigenous materials.

Playful activity can facilitate associate fluency.

Children's emotional competence with peers might account for

association between children's play and quality of peer

relationships.

Disruptive and disconnective peer play behaviours were

associated with negative emotional and behaviour out comes.

Important play associations were found in social and

emotional development.

Children's experience in peer group varied depending on the

sex of the child and the sex of the play partners.

Play served as therapy for children with autism 1 behavioural

problems.

Children at risk of language and behaviour problem could be

helped by intervention to improve social, linguistic and play

behaviour.

Children learnt and retained the skills even after 3 weeks of

the training.

Teacher-pupil ratio varied from 1:20 to 1:40.

 Several studies of pre-schools found poor conditions in the

pre-schools.

Teacher's opinion on play was not influenced by their training

but it was influenced by their childhood experiences.

Though mothers realized, that play was important for pre

schoolers, their educational level iduenced their knowledge

about the usefulness and value of play.

In the Indian context the studies showed that majority of the

preschools and parents had not yet realized the importance of play

for preschool children. The preschools concentrate more on teaching

three 'K s (Reading, writing and Arithmetic) to the children. The

management and teachers in many preschools neither know the

importance of the play nor they provide sufficient space for the

children to play.

Based on these observation the problem for investigation was

defined. An extensive review of literature has made it poasible for

presentation of some salient observations. All. these observations

were used in selection of variabies and formation of reeearch

questions and hypotheses for experimental verification. The

objectives and hypotheses formulated were presented in the

following chapter.