Reflections on teaching practices in children school: The emergence of learning through play culture

Abstract

It is the concern of any professional in education, to guarantee the child access to quality learning and oriented towards a constructivist dimension, trying to transpose into their daily lives the right to play and have fun, since these practices, for numerous reasons, all well-founded, give robustness to the childhood of any individual. The preservation of the culture of play by a society and the achievement of individual well-being is an essential resource in the life of the child with benefits for their education, especially in troubled times of civilization, such as we are currently experiencing. With this research, carried out using the analysis of data collected between 2013 and 2020, in two phases of study (Phase 1 and 2), by applying a questionnaire to 298 education professionals (Pre-School Education and 1st Cycle of Basic Education), we had the purpose of analyzing and comparing the practices attested by these professionals regarding the use of playful proposals in the activities/lessons with a view to learning: a. both in the acquisition of regional culture; b. and academic subjects. This longitudinal study requires qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Our results allow us to conclude that although importance is given to playful practices in the context of pedagogical activity, the practices assumed by pre-school teachers are more frequent and more sustainable. In turn, although in the first phase of the study the emphasis on learning aspects of regional culture was reinforced, in the following phase, its importance was revealed in the implementation of cooperative work, in the exchange of opinion and discussion and finally in the increase of motivation for academic learning (with emphasis on mathematics). In view of the educational innovation, we believe that this should be a topic to invest in when training teachers.