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3). Conducting An Investigation Of Early Childhood Educators, Kontos And Dunn ...

3). Conducting an investigation of early childhood educators, Kontos and Dunn (1993) find out that those teachers who practice child-initiated activities have better relations with preschool children and higher levels of learning achievements. In their research Lieberman and Hoody (1998) reveals that children better learn languages, arts and math in the environment that incites five senses. As preschool children are not yet adjusted to the inside realm created by people, they are more open to outdoor learning experiences. The similar findings are received by Bilton (2005) who points out that outside is an ideal learning environment for children of preschool age, and, thus, outdoor activity should be seen an integral part of early years provision (p.9). However, as the author states, children of 3-5 years should be divided into three groups: 1) children who learn only in the outdoor environment; 2) children who better develop in the indoor environment and 3) children who can do perfectly well inside and outside. In view of this division, Bilton (2005) suggests paying special attention to individual characteristics of children and act accordingly in the early years setting.
But as Moyles (1989) points out, adults themselves actually find it very unsatisfying and even frustrating to play with children (p.4). Although the importance of play for children's learning is recognised by educators and scholars, they fail to reconcile practical implications with academic accuracy. According to Moyles (1989), children's plays are usually considered as one of the most complicated, because they are based on higher order thinking and organisation (p.6). As a result, many adults fail to understand children's plays and, thus, are unable to successfully interact with them. But as Isenberg and Jalongo (2000) claim, adults serve as stimulators for children of 3-5 years; while older children may do without adults, preschool children greatly depend on adults. In this regard, an educator should be able to realise children's needs and find appropriate outside activities for them.
Isenberg and Jalongo (2000) consider that a teacher should interact with preschool children on equal terms, but, nevertheless, he/she should direct and lead children in all outdoor plays. As Hutt et al. (1989) state, adults can successfully cope with this task, because there is often an implicit agreement between staff and children as to what one does outdoors as opposed to the indoor situation (p.81). However, the findings of Keating et al. (2000) contradict the claim of the previous group of researchers. Interviewing parents, educators and children in several schools of the United Kingdom, Keating et al.

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