An exploration on how the practitioner supports outdoor play in the early years sector - Essay Knights

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For the purpose of this small-scale research the participants will be Early Years Practitioner working in an ECCE settings. I will interview eight Early Years Practitioners, two from a Sessional setting, two from a full day care setting, two from a Community based child care setting and two from a forest school outdoor setting. Participants must be currently working in the setting and have acquired a child care qualification at Fetac level 5 or above.

There will be no children used in this research.

DISSERTATION Research Topic:

An exploration on how Early Years Practitioner supports outdoor play in the Early Years Sector

Embedded Topics:
• An understanding on the importance of outdoor play in early years.
• The role of the early years environment in supporting outdoor play experiences.
• The role of the early years practitioner in supporting outdoor play.
• How outdoor play is reflected in the early year’s curriculum?
• How does the outdoor environment support children with additional needs?

For the purpose of this small-scale research interview will be conducted with Early Years Practitioner working in an ECCE settings. I will interview 8 Early Years Practitioners, two from a Sessional setting, two from a full day care setting, two from a Community based setting and two from a forest school outdoor setting. Participants must be currently working in the setting and have acquired a child care qualification at Fetac level 5 or above.

There will be no children used in this research.

For writer’s information: – Early Years Practitioners = Teacher of young children 3-5 years
Early years sector = Pre-school), and ECCE = The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme

Aim of research

Aim(s) of the research

It is evident from research the benefits of play, that it has been established play is central in the early childhood curriculum. Síolta, the national quality framework from the Dept. of Education, and Aistear, the national curriculum framework from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, have both put great emphasis on the importance of play in the early year’s settings to a child’s development and wellbeing. Therefore, the rationale of this research is to examine the provision of promoting quality of outdoor play experiences within ECCE settings from the practitioners prospective. Current research highlights the importance of this to children’s health, wellbeing, and development. Children learn through play, movement, communication, and sensory experience which the outdoors provides in a much greater scale than indoors. The outdoor environment can offer unique stimulus through contact with the natural world, its sounds sights and touch that can’t be replicated indoors. A recent survey by Early Childhood Ireland and the Institute of Technology, Sligo has also shown that Irish parents value play but that 88% of children play outside less in winter and 74% of children don’t get to play outside when it is raining (Institute of Technology Sligo, 2012). According to Louv, 2005 play outside also promotes healthier children who are less likely to get sick, suffer from anxiety or become agitated, and they are more resilient and adaptable to overcome life’s unpredictable challenges.

Unfortunately changes in our society has affected children experiencing the outdoors. Time for outdoor play is decreasing, contributing to more inactive lifestyles, and a detachment from the natural world. This further reinforces the importance of outdoor play in early years to children’s healthy growth. The aim of this research is to gain an understanding of outdoor play in the early years sector, focusing on how the practitioner supports outdoor play, exploring practitioners’ experiences and understanding attitudes and values around outdoor play in the following areas, environment, curriculum and supporting children with additional needs. This paper will explore the different dimensions related to outdoor play in the early years sector and highlight the role of Early Years practitioner in creating quality outdoor play opportunities
examine any restriction, barriers or challenges they face in doing so.

Considering the amount of time children spend in Early years settings throughout the academic year, outdoor spaces are important to children. Furthermore, research supports this as studies have shown that, compared to the learning done in indoor classrooms, having lessons outdoors increases academic achievement and acquisition of knowledge (Taylor and Kuo, 2008).

Abstract: ( Word Count 175)

Brief overview of the aims/research questions, participants/institutions sampled, methods employed (paradigm, approach, data collection methods), and a brief account of findings and conclusion.

Key words: Identify the words or phrases that give a clear indication of the research focus.

My version: please follow closely to these thanks.

A growing body of research indicates the benefits of outdoor play, the outdoor environment can offer unique stimulus through contact with the natural world, its sounds, sights and touch that can’t be replicated indoors. However, changes in our society has affected children experiencing the outdoors. Time for outdoor play is decreasing, contributing to more inactive lifestyles, and a detachment from the natural world. This further reinforces the importance of outdoor play in ECCE settings to children’s health and well-being. This study sought to gain an understanding of outdoor play in the early years sector, focusing on how the practitioner supports outdoor play. Exploring practitioners’ experiences and understanding around outdoor play in the following areas, environment, curriculum and supporting children with additional needs. The research gathered qualitative data through a semi structured question. Using data from interviews with eight practitioners. Participants were early years practitioners working with children aged three to ﬁve years in various early years settings.

Introduction (word count: 475)

• What do you want to find out (referenced to academic literature), with whom and where?
• Why did you choose this area for research (referenced to literature)?
• How/why is your proposed academic enquiry important? Briefly identify key issues and debates (referenced to literature).
• Briefly define specific terminology in relation to your research field (referenced to literature).
• Who might be a potential user of this research?
• What are the specific research questions?
• Briefly, how will you try and ensure that your research is as objective as possible?

Core Books

Playing Outdoors in the Early Years By (author) Ros Garrick
Bruce, T. McNair, L. Siencyn, W S (2008) I Made a Unicorn! An open-ended play with blocks and simple materials. United Kingdom: Community Playthings

Community Playthings (2009) The Wisdom of Play: How children learn to make sense of the world. Ulster Park, NY: Community Playthings
Duffy, C. (2007) Creating and Promoting Outdoor Learning Environments. Vision into Practice, 217-223 Conference Proceedings. Dublin: CECDE

Exploring Outdoor Play in the Early Years By (author) Trisha Maynard , By (author) Jane Waters

Risk & Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play: Learning from Forest Schools By (author) Sara Knight
Waller, T. and Ruskin, A. (2014) Voices in the park: Researching the participation of young children in outdoor play in early years settings. Management in Education. Vol.28(4) 161-166.
Waller, T. Sandser, EBS. Wyver, S. Arlemalm-Hagsér,E and
Maynard, T. (2010) The Dynamics of Early Childhood Spaces: Opportunities for Outdoor Play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal Vol. 18, No.4, 437-443

Willoughby, M. (2014) Outdoor Play Matters: The Benefits of Outdoor Play for Young Children. Dublin: Barnardos’ Training and Resource Service
NCCA/National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2015) Aistear Síolta Practice Guide, Dublin: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
Inclusive outdoor play : A Practical Guide to Meeting Additional Needs By (author) Anne Vize
Nangah, Z. and Mills, G. (2015) ‘Re-thinking children’s well-being and inclusion in practice’. In Brodie, K. and Savage, K. (Eds) Inclusion and Early Years Practice. London: Routledge.

Ploughman, N. (2008) ‘Exercise is brain food: the effects of physical activity on cognitive function’, Developmental Neurohabilitation, July – September, 11 (3).

Barnardo’s, (2005) ‘Let’s play together’ Report authors: Ludvigsen, A., Creegan, C. and Mills, H. Barnardo’s: London.

Casey, T. (2011) ‘Outdoor play for everyone’ In J. White (Ed) Outdoor Provision in the Early Years London: Sage publications.

Methodology ( Word Count 1300):

This section will provide the rationale for the research design choices and discuss issues relating to validity and reliability and will be linked consistently to the research questions. The whole section must be supported with relevant literature on research design.
• Which research paradigm did you use – positivist or interpretivist, or both? Why?
• Which sampling strategy did you use? Why? (Make sure you give a clear indication of who is involved in your research and where the research will take place)
• Which research approach/strategy (e.g. case study, ethnography, survey) did you use? Why?
• Which data collection method(s) did you use? Why?
• How do the selected data collection methods engage with the stated research paradigm and approach?
• How will reliability and validity be assured? Consider issues related to statistical analysis and/or triangulation.

Sample Solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14 th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings ( Cheney, 2016) . The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader ( Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017) . While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “ arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed , 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies , 4 (8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica , 285-297.