Benue State University, Makurdi

AN APPRAISAL OF THE EPISTEMIC ESSENCE OF PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING

Nwogoh, Chinasa Felicitas
Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State.

Prof. Omatseye, B. O. J.
Institute of Education, University of Benin, Benin City

Abstract

Play is a universal phenomenon and generally enjoyed by children. When children are engaged in play they are almost oblivious of every other thing around them. This makes play a serious business for them. Overtime, efforts have been made to distinguish between children’s play and that of adults. While adults spend their leisure through “play” which is more of practicing skills as well as relaxing; play for the child is not just relaxation or pleasure but a part of life and learning. Rousseau was one of such early childhood educators who made play gain prominence in early childhood learning. He emphasized the importance of children developing their natural instinct through play. This is also in the sense that play is the natural occupation of children. Following suit, Pestalozzi started the first outdoor education which emphasized that children should continue playing as they did at home in order to learn. By the 19 th century, early childhood education had begun to take cognizance of childhood as a discrete and important phase of development. In this same regard, deliberate efforts were made to recognize children’s play as quite distinct, important and different from adult play. More especially with the coming to the scene of childhood proponents like Fredrick Froebel, John Dewey, Patty Smith Hill and Maria Montessori, the status of children’s play was changed from frivolous to serious work. Play was now seen as important for social, emotional, physical and intellectual development of children. In essence, children’s play has its epistemic knowledge worth and educational value.

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