Entering Kindergarten After Years of Play: A Cross-Case Analysis of School Readiness Following Play-Based Education.

Cross-case study research was used to explore the school readiness of four 5-year-old children entering kindergarten during the 2020-2021 school year after three or more years of play-based early childhood education at a Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood education center. Data included a series of three 1-h individual interviews with four mothers and three kindergarten teachers, field visits during remote learning, and artifact collection over the course of the school year. Themes describing the children's school readiness were developed through cross-case analysis. Participants described the children as learners, explorers, communicators, and empathizers. The learner theme centers on the children's responsiveness to instruction; the explorer theme describes how the children approached learning; the communicator theme illustrates the children's prowess with social connection and self-advocacy, and the empathizer theme shows the thoughtfulness and emotional sensitivity these children displayed. Findings suggest that play-based learning prepared these children for successful kindergarten experiences and was a viable early childhood education pedagogy fostering school readiness.

Educación lúdica: una opción dentro de la educación ambiental en salud. Seguimiento de una experiencia rural colombiana sobre las geohelmintiasis / Play-based education: an option in environmental education in health. Monitoring of rural Colombian experience on geohelminthiasis / Educação lúdica: uma opção em educação em saúde ambiental. Monitoramento de experiência colombiana rural em geohelmintoses

Las geohelmintiasis son un problema de Salud Pública en los países en desarrollo, especialmente en escolares y preescolares, su control se basa en la integración de varias estrategias entre las cuales es esencial la educación en salud, que por sí sola ha demostrado ser altamente costo-efectiva. En este artículo se publican los resultados correspondientes a un estudio cualitativo aplicado, etnográfico, con enfoque crítico y participación comunitaria, cuyo objetivo fue desarrollar y hacer un seguimiento a una experiencia de educación lúdica, ambiental, dirigida a la prevención y el control de las geohelmintiasis en "La Virgen" (Cundinamarca, Colombia), basado en tres elementos: número de participantes en las actividades lúdicas, aceptación de las mismas y dificultades en su aplicación. Se efectuó un muestreo intencional a través del cual se seleccionaron maestros y estudiantes entre los ocho a quince años de cuatro instituciones educativas. Las técnicas utilizadas fueron entrevistas, observación participante, diarios de campo e instrumentos que permitieran el seguimiento de cada actividad. La validez de la metodología estuvo dada por la triangulación de datos. Las actividades lúdicas desarrolladas contaron con aceptación por parte de escolares, maestros y padres de familia. Hubo una fácil comprensión de los objetivos de los juegos y demás actividades lúdicas. Se presentó una participación considerable en el proceso por parte de maestros, alumnos, padres de familia y líderes comunitarios. Los primeros (especialmente las ludotecarias) se mostraron animados a colaborar en las actividades lúdicas y a emplearlas a futuro en sus clases; además, solicitaron otras capacitaciones relacionadas con salud. A partir de la interacción de la gente con el equipo de la Universidad Nacional surgieron nuevos materiales y actividades educativas lúdicas en salud (carteleras, canciones y un festival de la salud). Esta experiencia educativa ambiental lúdica permitió corroborar que la educación involucra un proceso profundo de enseñanza aprendizaje donde se construyen nuevos saberes; no se debe reducir a un nivel informativo que se refiere a una transmisión de datos emisor-receptor con carácter jerárquico. La lúdica optimiza el aprendizaje, promueve la participación y la creatividad. Además, permite identificar fácilmente problemas ambientales sentidos por la gente y aspectos relativos a la prevención que deben trabajarse tanto a nivel de saneamiento básico (por ejemplo, ausencia de alcantarillado) como de educación en salud, estimulando a la población a mejorar su calidad de vida...

Soil-transmitted helminths are a public health problem in developing countries, especially in school and preschool children. Their control is based on the integration of various strategies such as health education, which alone has proven to be highly cost-effective. This paper describes a qualitative applied study with an ethnographic design, a critical approach, and community participation. The study objective was to develop and track a play-based and environmental learning experience, aimed to prevent and control soil-transmitted helminths in "La Virgen" (Departamento de Cundinamarca, Colombia). The track was based on three elements: number of participants in recreational activities, acceptance of these activities, and difficulties in their implementation. Purposive sampling was performed through which teachers, and students aged 8 to 15, were selected mainly from 4 educational institutions. The techniques used were interviews, participant observation, field notes, and other instruments that allow the monitoring of each activity. The validity of the methodology was described by the triangulation of data. Recreational activities were accepted by school teachers and parents. The objectives of the games and other fun activities were easily understood by the children and other participants. Teachers, students, parents and community leaders also became involved in the process. The teachers, especially the toy librarians, were encouraged to attend recreational activities and promote their future employment in their classes. These instructors also requested additional health training workshops from the researchers. Effective collaboration between the participants from La Virgen and the researchers from la Universidad Nacional produced new materials and recreational activities in health education (such as billboards, songs, and a health festival). This educational experience corroborates the findings of previous studies, which indicate that simply presenting information does not necessarily ensure that it will be internalized by the subjects. Play-based education optimizes learning, while encouraging participation and creativity. In addition, it allows for the easy identification of environmental problems felt by the population, and the development of preventative activities related to both basic sanitation (e.g. lack of sewerage) and health education. These aspects of the project have the ability to improve participants' quality of life...

Eficacia de la educación lúdica en la prevención del Dengue en escolares / The efficacy of play-based education in preventing Dengue in primary-school children

Objetivo Evaluar la eficacia de educación lúdica con escolares para mejorar conocimientos y prácticas de prevención y control del Dengue. Métodos Estudio de intervención tipo antes-después, realizado en Bucaramanga, entre julio y noviembre del 2009. Un grupo de líderes escolares de primaria, previa encuesta de conocimientos y prácticas de control del Dengue, recibieron educación lúdica sobre dengue y liderazgo y suscribieron compromisos para implementar acciones con familiares y vecinos. Se siguieron durante cuatro meses y se hizo visita domiciliaria para evaluar compromisos y repetir encuesta. Se compararon los datos antes-después, mediante la prueba de ji2, considerando significativos valores de p<0.05. Resultados Completaron el seguimiento 89 de 99 niños (90 por ciento). Hubo aumento significativo en conocimientos sobre dengue como enfermedad (de 73 por ciento a 95,5 por ciento), muy grave (82 por ciento a 96,6 por ciento), trasmitida por zancudos (82 por ciento a 100 por ciento), producida por virus (1,1 por ciento a 19,1 por ciento). Sobre reconocimiento de larvas (54 por ciento a 95,5 por ciento) y sitios de reproducción (43 por ciento a 88 por ciento). Sobre síntomas como fiebre (67,4 por ciento a 97,8 por ciento), dolor de huesos (21,3 por ciento a 62,9 por ciento), cefalea (37,1 por ciento a 64 por ciento) y sangrado (16.8 por ciento a 42.7 por ciento). En prácticas de consulta oportuna (77,5 por ciento a 98,9 por ciento), fumigación (22,5 por ciento a 47,2 por ciento) y lavado de pilas (67,5 por ciento a 89,7 por ciento). Los niños realizaron sus compromisos e hicieron más actividades con creatividad e ingenio. Conclusión La educación lúdica fue eficaz para mejorar conocimientos y prácticas de prevención del dengue.

Objectivo Evaluating the effectiveness of primary-school children's play-based education for improving knowledge about Dengue prevention, control and practice. Methods This was a before-after type intervention study which was carried out in Bucaramanga between July and November 2009. A group of leading primary-school children received play-based education about Dengue and leadership after they had been surveyed regarding their knowledge about dengue control practices. Then they signed commitments to implement action with family and neighbours; they were followed-up for four months and home visits were made to assess commitment and repeat the survey. Data was compared before and after, by Chi2 test, considering p<0.05 to be significant. Results Follow-up was completed for 89 of the 99 children (90 percent). There were significant increases in knowledge about dengue as a disease (from 73 percent to 95.5 percent), as being very severe (82 percent to 96.6 percent), being transmitted by mosquitoes (82 percent to 100 percent), being caused by virus (1.1 percent to 19.1 percent), in recognising larvae (54 percent to 95.5 percent) and breeding sites (43 percent to 88 percent), recognising symptoms of fever (67.4 percent to 97.8 percent), pain in the bones (21.3 percent to 62.9 percent), headache (37.1 percent to 64 percent) and bleeding (16.8 percent to 42.7 percent), in the need for opportune consultation (77.5 percent to 98.9 percent), spraying (22.5 percent to 47.2 percent) and washing out water tanks (67.5 percent to 89.7 percent). The children fulfilled their commitment and creatively and inventively engaged in more activities. Conclusions Play-based education was effective in improving knowledge and practice regarding dengue prevention.