Junior and Intermediate Educators' Perceptions of Play Pedagogy: Informing Future Policy Creation & Implementation

Play-based instruction has become the guiding framework of Ontario’s Full-Day Kindergarten curriculum; however, the benefits of playful learning have yet to be extended into higher elementary grades. Through semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study involves an investigation into twelve Junior (grades four to six) and Intermediate (grades seven and eight) teachers’ perceptions of play pedagogy and its implementation into classroom practice. A grounded theory approach to data analysis uncovers a detailed depiction of teachers’ local knowledge base and current cognitive schemas, from which recommendations for policy creation and implementation are conceived. As a Prospective Policy Analysis, this research strives to take into account Ontario’s current educational context so as to minimize discrepancies between actual and desired results of a future play policy for grades four through eight.