Children's Play Experiences and the Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Behaviors Demonstrated During Play Activities at Gifted Hands Kindergarten

dc.contributor.advisorTadesse Jaleta
dc.contributor.authorNetsanet Nigussie
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-03T05:16:58Z
dc.date.available2026-09-03T05:16:58Z
dc.date.issued2026-06-01
dc.description.abstractPlay 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.
dc.identifier.urihttps://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/8950
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAddis Ababa University
dc.subjectPlay
dc.subjectchild development
dc.subjectchildren
dc.subjectplay practices
dc.subjectsocial development
dc.subjectemotional development
dc.subjectcognitive development
dc.titleChildren's Play Experiences and the Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Behaviors Demonstrated During Play Activities at Gifted Hands Kindergarten
dc.typeThesis

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Netsanet_Nigussie_2026_ETD.pdf
Size:
848.03 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description: