Children's Play Experiences and the Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Behaviors Demonstrated During Play Activities at Gifted Hands Kindergarten
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Date
2026-06-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Play does not only make a child enjoy the moments with peers, but it has a significant contribution to children’s social, emotional and cognitive development which has a long-lasting impact on their wellbeing. In many educational environments, especially in early childhood education, play is often undervalued or replaced with academically driven instruction. While western-centric research on play is abundant in the Global North context, there is a notable lack of empirical evidence regarding how practices are perceived and their link with developmental outcomes in the Ethiopian/Global South context. Play is not merely a leisure activity but a foundational process through which children learn, adapt, and grow. Investigating its impact provides valuable insights for educators, parents, policymakers, and child development specialists.The study adopted a qualitative observational study to explore how play contributes to children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development in an early childhood education center. Data was collected through non-participant observations during classroom and playground activities over three weeks. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that children frequently demonstrated social interaction, emotional expression, communication, creativity, and problem-solving behaviors while engaged in play activities.
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Play, child development, children, play practices, social development, emotional development, cognitive development