Supporting children’s social play with peer-based intervention and instruction in four inclusive Swedish preschools

The study investigates kindergarten teachers’ experiences as they try out the ‘Play Time/Social Time’ intervention method, which aims to promote social play and strengthen social skills in kindergarten children. It focuses on how the method affects children in need of extra support, especially in terms of their ability to participate in social play and develop social skills. The research questions are: 1) Were there differences in how the kindergarten teachers who received guidance and those who did not perceive social play skills and social participation in children who require additional support? 2) Did the methods contribute to social play between children who require additional support and their peers without additional support needs? What factors promoted and inhibited social play? 3) Were there differences in how well the methods were followed, carried out, and implemented between the kindergartens that received guidance and those that did not? 4) What was the quality of inclusion like in the kindergartens that received guidance compared to those that did not?

The study found that kindergarten teachers, whether they had received guidance or not, believed that social play skills and engagement in children requiring additional support had improved after the implementation of the social play method (Play Time/Social Time). Guidance contributed to increased ability to implement, but did not necessarily influence the perception of social engagement and play skills among kindergarten teachers. The study also showed that the method supported social play among all children. Kindergartens that received guidance showed higher degrees of reliable implementation, while those without guidance completed the programme more often. The study found that the quality of inclusion increased in some kindergartens regardless of guidance, suggesting that other factors also contributed to the changes in the quality of inclusion. Specific areas such as adult involvement in play between children and guiding children’s activities showed improvement after implementation of the method in some kindergartens.

After receiving training from the researchers, four teachers from different Swedish kindergartens, focusing on inclusion and adaptation, implemented a method of social play consisting of 28 lessons. These lessons were initiated by the teachers and aimed to strengthen the children’s social skills in order to initiate and maintain play with peers. Each week, the teachers conducted three learning activities. Half of the teachers also received additional guidance early on in the implementation process, focusing on the learning objectives and the guiding questions related to the activities. In total, ten children participated in the project, four of which needed additional support in social play. These children were placed together with one or two children without similar needs. The children were aged 4 to 5.5 years and the activities were documented through video recording. Before and after the implementation, the teachers conducted observations of play and used an assessment scale to record their impressions of the children with special needs. The teachers also answered questionnaires about the children’s engagement both before and after the implementation. The researchers assessed the inclusion in the kindergartens using observations, which were performed twice in each kindergarten – one before and one after the implementation. To evaluate how faithful the teachers were to the taught method, the researchers also observed several of the learning activities.

Gladh, M., Siljehag, E., Westling Allodi, M., & Odom, S. L. (2022, August). Supporting children’s social play with peer-based intervention and instruction in four inclusive Swedish preschools. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 943601). Frontiers Media SA.