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Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of Children’s Learning: Above and Beyond the Impact of Semi-Structured, Inclusive Motor Play Activities

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Abstract

With intentional adult guidance, all children have opportunities to learn new skills across developmental domains during motor play. We collected and analyzed 501 written responses from 16 preschool teachers regarding their perceptions of intervention outcomes across domains, based on their observations during the CHildren in Action: Motor Program for PreschoolerS (CHAMPPS) intervention. This 21-week class-wide, semi-structured motor program was implemented in eight inclusive preschool classrooms. The findings reveal that teachers noticed many positive changes in children’s social, communication, and pre-academic skills as well as their approaches to learning during the months when they implemented the CHAMPPS program. In addition to sharing data from this qualitative analysis, we discuss (a) the value of motor interventions and purposefully embedding learning opportunities across developmental domains for young children with and without disabilities, and (b) the benefits of gathering end-users’ perspectives as we collaborate with them to implement new interventions.

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Funding

This research was made possible by Grant Number R324A150074 from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views or endorsement by the funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Hsiu-Wen Yang

  2. Department of Special Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Michaelene M. Ostrosky

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  1. Hsiu-Wen Yang
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  2. Michaelene M. Ostrosky
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Correspondence to Hsiu-Wen Yang.

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Yang, HW., Ostrosky, M.M. Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of Children’s Learning: Above and Beyond the Impact of Semi-Structured, Inclusive Motor Play Activities. Early Childhood Educ J 52, 471–480 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01435-x

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