Niroshami R Rajapaksha | Open university of SriLanka (original) (raw)

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Preschool children best learn through play. Among different play types sociodramatic play takes a... more Preschool children best learn through play. Among different play types sociodramatic play takes a crucial role during preschool years. Adults play a major in facilitating sociodramatic play for learning and development in preschool children. This study attempted to examine the role of the teacher in scaffolding the sociodramatic play activities implemented in the preschool classroom. The study employed Observations, interviews and reflective journal as the data collection instruments under qualitative approach. The study conducted a sociodramatic play intervention for a sample of 25 children aged from 3-5 in a preschool located in Colombo district under four themes. The observations which were carried out throughout 4 weeks were videotaped and documented via field notes. The data analyzing was done from the beginning based on descriptive analysis. The intervention identified that when the children are not engaging in the sociodramatic play activities much due to their limited experiences, the teacher has to be a play leader. When the children improve their interest in engaging in the sociodramatic play activities the teacher has to shift her role to co-player role. Thus the study concluded that the intervention identified pedagogical strategies for the teacher to scaffold the sociodramatic play activities in the preschool classroom.

In preschool years, the play is the vital mode of learning of children. Among different forms of ... more In preschool years, the play is the vital mode of learning of children. Among different forms of play sociodramatic play is highlighted as most common and important type of play during 3-5 years old as it is a medium for the development of the cognitive, creative, and socio-emotional abilities that will be useful within a school environment. In the Socio-dramatic play, children use objects as props to develop story episodes that involve other children. However, increased academic expectations for children entering preschools have shifted the focus away from teaching children through play. Thus, this study focused on investigating how children participate in sociodramatic play with regard to their age, gender and themes used in a preschool classroom.
A qualitative approach was employed in the study utilizing an action research design. A sociodramatic play intervention was carried out in a preschool located in Nawala area in the Colombo district with a cohort of 10 children purposively selected ranging in age from 3 years to 5 years over 4 weeks. The data consisted of observations, field notes documented with the support of video recordings, interviews and teacher’s reflective journal and analysed using descriptive analysis align with the research objectives by deriving sub-themes developed based on literature.
The intervention revealed that children showed a greater interest in sociodramatic play when compared with the other usual classroom activities. A significant difference didn't appear with regard to the age in the children's participation. Girls became more active in some of the subcategories in sociodramatic play intervention than boys while boys showed more participation in the rest of the subcategories. The nature of the themes had an influence on the increment of children’s participation in the intervention. The opportunities for the participation of girls and boys, different age levels, opportunities for a variety of themes, previous practices and skills, nature of the teacher’s involvement became the significant factors for the improvement of participation in sociodramatic play.
Finally, the study concluded that the sociodramatic play is both a medium and context for developing playful experiences for the development of children and, therefore, the findings proposed to develop a greater emphasis and encouragement on sociodramatic play by including it into the preschool curriculum and providing guidelines for the implementations for both teachers and preschools.

Theories of Piaget and vygotsky on learning through play highlight the significance of d*ring ear... more Theories of Piaget and vygotsky on learning through play highlight the significance of d*ring early years' Play is important for the development ofconcepts and skilis in preschool children needed for their academic skills in later life. Studies have shown that the mushrooming of preschools and increasing demand of desk work have threatened the important of using play for learning in the current context of Early childhood Education in Sri Lanka. This leads to a probiematic situation to investigate to what extent the play based teaching is used in the current context. The study attempted to investigate to what extent the preschool teachers use play based teaching stoategies in the teaching learning process, teacher's perception ofusing play based strategies and children,s participation in those activities' The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 30 preschool teachers registered in the certificate in Preschool Education (cPE) Programme offered by the open University of Sri Lanta (ousl) in 2014/2015' The observations and interviews were carried out with randomly selected 12 teachers from the sample' The quantitative data was analysed using charts and tables and qualitative data was descriptively analysed. The data revealed that nearly 50olo teachers from the sample used play based teaching strategies to a certain extent while the other half used more activities similar to desk work due to institutional and parents requirements. It showed that though teachers perceive the importance of using play based teaching, they were not aware of how to incorporate play properly into the activities' Use ofplay based teaching strategies was helpful for teachers to conkol the classroom and maintain children's attention throughout the lesson. Further it helped to obtain a significant participation of children particularly towards the outdoor play activities and dramatic play regardless of their gender and age. However, longer play sessions didn't increase the children,s parlicipation throughout the activity' Thus the study concluded play based teaching strategies were used in the teaching learning process to certain extent and children were very mucliinterested in those activities. Further the study recommends making aware of preschool teachers on how to incorporate play into teaching learning process through teacher taining programmes. !

The Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL... more The Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) has been conducting the Certificate in Preschool Education Programme since 1980s. The students' enrollment of this programme is very high due to its popularity among preschool teachers. However, the completion rate of the programme is gradually decreasing. This study attempts to investigate the problem of non-completion of the students enrolled in the programme. The objectives are to find out the background characteristics of students of this programme and the factors affecting students' non-completion. Finally, it makes recommendations to minimize the students' non-completion rate in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of this program. The design of the research was survey method. Questionnaires and telephone interviews were used as instruments for data collection. The sample was selected from non-completion students selected from those participating in the programme throughout the past ten academic years from 1998/1999 to 2009/2010. The findings have indicated that the majority of individuals registering in the program is between 17-35 years age who are involved in the field of child care. Most of them are preschool teachers while 37% are not employed. The majority of the sample is from Colombo Centre and the second highest sample is from Kandy Centre. All the other centres comprised 25.8% of the sample. The majority had enrolled in the program to acquire knowledge. The main reason for non-completion was difficulty of finding time. Apart from that, absence of support from the family, fear of facing the final examination due to lack of time for studies, failure to obtain eligibility to complete program by submitting assignments on time, inability to maintain studentship and inability to complete practical component. Taking the above factors into consideration it could be recommended that there should be a mechanism to help students to solve their personal problems and maintain clear channels of communication.

– Since 1980 Sri Lanka has been using Distance Education methods to enhance the professional deve... more – Since 1980 Sri Lanka has been using Distance Education methods to enhance the professional development of its students through many programmes. The Certificate in Preschool Programme is also as old as the university in which it offer a professional programme for students who are interested in early childhood education by adding and revising new courses for its quality improvements. This study attempts to evaluate a newly introduced practical training session on Observation and Practical Teaching in the Certificate in Preschool Programme, offered by the Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The main objective of this study was to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the session and forward some suggestions to enhance the quality of it. The sample comprised of 293 student teachers of the programme in 2010/2011 and a mail questionnaire was administered to collect data. According to the findings it revealed a remarkable positive responses towards the new session in which the students have been able to develop skills in planning lessons, conducting activities, selecting and preparing teaching aids, contacts with children observation skills though few weaknesses and limitations were identified specially in the Tamil medium students. It might be suggest that a criteria for evaluation and observation of teaching need to be develop for further enhancing of quality and the greater attention be paid for the Tamil medium teaching practices to minimize the limitation occurred. It can be proven, based on the findings that the newly introduced observation and practical training has been effective and has given immense assistance for student teachers to develop their professional skills and knowledge.

This study attempted to find out the problems faced by the preschool teachers when making and usi... more This study attempted to find out the problems faced by the preschool teachers when making and using teaching aids in the process of teaching and learning, and to identify their perception on using teaching aids. The study employed quantitative method of research. The sample of this study comprised of 60 Sinhala medium preschool teachers and 40 English medium teachers who have registered in the Diploma in Early Childhood & Primary Education programme in the Colombo regional center, at OUSL. The study employed the survey research design. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data. The data were analyzed using simple quantitative statistical methods. The study revealed that the teacher have precise perception of teaching aids and its functions. However they face problems such as lack of time for making teaching aids for each lesson, lack of training on using electronic teaching aids, lack of knowledge on relating teaching aids to the lesson in the teaching learning process. Thus, the study recommends enhancing more emphasis by providing awareness, knowledge on using teaching aids effectively among preschool teachers.

Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The... more Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The present study focused on developing oral language skills in preschool children through a sociodramatic play intervention. The study employed a case study design under qualitative approach. The researcher conducted a sociodramatic play intervention collaboratively with the class teacher for a group of 10 children selected utilizing purposive sampling method in a preschool classroom. The intervention was conducted in a preschool located in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. The observation, interview and reflective journal were the instrument used to collect data. The observation carried under two criteria namely, ability to initiate a conversation and ability to respond in a conversation revealed that the sociodramatic play intervention created many opportunities to develop oral language skills in the children than the regular classroom activities. The sociodramatic play activities enhanced children's oral language skills while creating a language rich playful learning experiences.

Preschool children best learn through play. Among different play types sociodramatic play takes a... more Preschool children best learn through play. Among different play types sociodramatic play takes a crucial role during preschool years. Adults play a major in facilitating sociodramatic play for learning and development in preschool children. This study attempted to examine the role of the teacher in scaffolding the sociodramatic play activities implemented in the preschool classroom. The study employed Observations, interviews and reflective journal as the data collection instruments under qualitative approach. The study conducted a sociodramatic play intervention for a sample of 25 children aged from 3-5 in a preschool located in Colombo district under four themes. The observations which were carried out throughout 4 weeks were videotaped and documented via field notes. The data analyzing was done from the beginning based on descriptive analysis. The intervention identified that when the children are not engaging in the sociodramatic play activities much due to their limited experiences, the teacher has to be a play leader. When the children improve their interest in engaging in the sociodramatic play activities the teacher has to shift her role to co-player role. Thus the study concluded that the intervention identified pedagogical strategies for the teacher to scaffold the sociodramatic play activities in the preschool classroom.

In preschool years, the play is the vital mode of learning of children. Among different forms of ... more In preschool years, the play is the vital mode of learning of children. Among different forms of play sociodramatic play is highlighted as most common and important type of play during 3-5 years old as it is a medium for the development of the cognitive, creative, and socio-emotional abilities that will be useful within a school environment. In the Socio-dramatic play, children use objects as props to develop story episodes that involve other children. However, increased academic expectations for children entering preschools have shifted the focus away from teaching children through play. Thus, this study focused on investigating how children participate in sociodramatic play with regard to their age, gender and themes used in a preschool classroom.
A qualitative approach was employed in the study utilizing an action research design. A sociodramatic play intervention was carried out in a preschool located in Nawala area in the Colombo district with a cohort of 10 children purposively selected ranging in age from 3 years to 5 years over 4 weeks. The data consisted of observations, field notes documented with the support of video recordings, interviews and teacher’s reflective journal and analysed using descriptive analysis align with the research objectives by deriving sub-themes developed based on literature.
The intervention revealed that children showed a greater interest in sociodramatic play when compared with the other usual classroom activities. A significant difference didn't appear with regard to the age in the children's participation. Girls became more active in some of the subcategories in sociodramatic play intervention than boys while boys showed more participation in the rest of the subcategories. The nature of the themes had an influence on the increment of children’s participation in the intervention. The opportunities for the participation of girls and boys, different age levels, opportunities for a variety of themes, previous practices and skills, nature of the teacher’s involvement became the significant factors for the improvement of participation in sociodramatic play.
Finally, the study concluded that the sociodramatic play is both a medium and context for developing playful experiences for the development of children and, therefore, the findings proposed to develop a greater emphasis and encouragement on sociodramatic play by including it into the preschool curriculum and providing guidelines for the implementations for both teachers and preschools.

Theories of Piaget and vygotsky on learning through play highlight the significance of d*ring ear... more Theories of Piaget and vygotsky on learning through play highlight the significance of d*ring early years' Play is important for the development ofconcepts and skilis in preschool children needed for their academic skills in later life. Studies have shown that the mushrooming of preschools and increasing demand of desk work have threatened the important of using play for learning in the current context of Early childhood Education in Sri Lanka. This leads to a probiematic situation to investigate to what extent the play based teaching is used in the current context. The study attempted to investigate to what extent the preschool teachers use play based teaching stoategies in the teaching learning process, teacher's perception ofusing play based strategies and children,s participation in those activities' The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 30 preschool teachers registered in the certificate in Preschool Education (cPE) Programme offered by the open University of Sri Lanta (ousl) in 2014/2015' The observations and interviews were carried out with randomly selected 12 teachers from the sample' The quantitative data was analysed using charts and tables and qualitative data was descriptively analysed. The data revealed that nearly 50olo teachers from the sample used play based teaching strategies to a certain extent while the other half used more activities similar to desk work due to institutional and parents requirements. It showed that though teachers perceive the importance of using play based teaching, they were not aware of how to incorporate play properly into the activities' Use ofplay based teaching strategies was helpful for teachers to conkol the classroom and maintain children's attention throughout the lesson. Further it helped to obtain a significant participation of children particularly towards the outdoor play activities and dramatic play regardless of their gender and age. However, longer play sessions didn't increase the children,s parlicipation throughout the activity' Thus the study concluded play based teaching strategies were used in the teaching learning process to certain extent and children were very mucliinterested in those activities. Further the study recommends making aware of preschool teachers on how to incorporate play into teaching learning process through teacher taining programmes. !

The Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL... more The Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) has been conducting the Certificate in Preschool Education Programme since 1980s. The students' enrollment of this programme is very high due to its popularity among preschool teachers. However, the completion rate of the programme is gradually decreasing. This study attempts to investigate the problem of non-completion of the students enrolled in the programme. The objectives are to find out the background characteristics of students of this programme and the factors affecting students' non-completion. Finally, it makes recommendations to minimize the students' non-completion rate in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of this program. The design of the research was survey method. Questionnaires and telephone interviews were used as instruments for data collection. The sample was selected from non-completion students selected from those participating in the programme throughout the past ten academic years from 1998/1999 to 2009/2010. The findings have indicated that the majority of individuals registering in the program is between 17-35 years age who are involved in the field of child care. Most of them are preschool teachers while 37% are not employed. The majority of the sample is from Colombo Centre and the second highest sample is from Kandy Centre. All the other centres comprised 25.8% of the sample. The majority had enrolled in the program to acquire knowledge. The main reason for non-completion was difficulty of finding time. Apart from that, absence of support from the family, fear of facing the final examination due to lack of time for studies, failure to obtain eligibility to complete program by submitting assignments on time, inability to maintain studentship and inability to complete practical component. Taking the above factors into consideration it could be recommended that there should be a mechanism to help students to solve their personal problems and maintain clear channels of communication.

– Since 1980 Sri Lanka has been using Distance Education methods to enhance the professional deve... more – Since 1980 Sri Lanka has been using Distance Education methods to enhance the professional development of its students through many programmes. The Certificate in Preschool Programme is also as old as the university in which it offer a professional programme for students who are interested in early childhood education by adding and revising new courses for its quality improvements. This study attempts to evaluate a newly introduced practical training session on Observation and Practical Teaching in the Certificate in Preschool Programme, offered by the Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The main objective of this study was to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the session and forward some suggestions to enhance the quality of it. The sample comprised of 293 student teachers of the programme in 2010/2011 and a mail questionnaire was administered to collect data. According to the findings it revealed a remarkable positive responses towards the new session in which the students have been able to develop skills in planning lessons, conducting activities, selecting and preparing teaching aids, contacts with children observation skills though few weaknesses and limitations were identified specially in the Tamil medium students. It might be suggest that a criteria for evaluation and observation of teaching need to be develop for further enhancing of quality and the greater attention be paid for the Tamil medium teaching practices to minimize the limitation occurred. It can be proven, based on the findings that the newly introduced observation and practical training has been effective and has given immense assistance for student teachers to develop their professional skills and knowledge.

This study attempted to find out the problems faced by the preschool teachers when making and usi... more This study attempted to find out the problems faced by the preschool teachers when making and using teaching aids in the process of teaching and learning, and to identify their perception on using teaching aids. The study employed quantitative method of research. The sample of this study comprised of 60 Sinhala medium preschool teachers and 40 English medium teachers who have registered in the Diploma in Early Childhood & Primary Education programme in the Colombo regional center, at OUSL. The study employed the survey research design. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data. The data were analyzed using simple quantitative statistical methods. The study revealed that the teacher have precise perception of teaching aids and its functions. However they face problems such as lack of time for making teaching aids for each lesson, lack of training on using electronic teaching aids, lack of knowledge on relating teaching aids to the lesson in the teaching learning process. Thus, the study recommends enhancing more emphasis by providing awareness, knowledge on using teaching aids effectively among preschool teachers.

Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The... more Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The present study focused on developing oral language skills in preschool children through a sociodramatic play intervention. The study employed a case study design under qualitative approach. The researcher conducted a sociodramatic play intervention collaboratively with the class teacher for a group of 10 children selected utilizing purposive sampling method in a preschool classroom. The intervention was conducted in a preschool located in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. The observation, interview and reflective journal were the instrument used to collect data. The observation carried under two criteria namely, ability to initiate a conversation and ability to respond in a conversation revealed that the sociodramatic play intervention created many opportunities to develop oral language skills in the children than the regular classroom activities. The sociodramatic play activities enhanced children's oral language skills while creating a language rich playful learning experiences.