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For Instance, King (1979) Observed And Interviewed Preschool Children In Four ...

For instance, King (1979) observed and interviewed preschool children in four kindergarten classrooms; his findings demonstrated that in these settings the play in the outdoor environment (and, thus, the interaction between children and adults) was not regarded as a crucial part of the educational process. As King (1979) stated, [children's] play does not hold a significant place in the important business of school (p.86).

The researcher further clarified that the play was used by educators to reward children for their success in education rather than an integral tool for improving children's learning. Under such circumstances adults failed to initiate the relations that might have a positive effect on children's learning; separating the play from learning activities, the previous generations of educators rejected the very opportunity of learning through the play. Hence, since early childhood children had to realise that the play was less important than activities within the classroom. Fortunately, social, cultural and technological changes have considerably influenced the contemporary educational system, and the shift towards new ways of teaching and learning signifies changes in social attitudes. On the other hand, due to a great variety of initiatives that have been implemented after the elaboration of the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (DfEE/QCA, 2000), the teacher-directed learning becomes more apparent than the child-initiated learning. Moreover, educators continue to adhere to the principles of the teacher-directed learning, because the recent research (e.g. Ward, 1996; Saracho & Spodek, 2003) demonstrates that the play and interactions with preschool children should be necessarily planned. But as Hillage et al. (1998) reveal in their recent report, researchers provide invalid findings on early years education, while policy-makers and educators use these results as the basis for their work.
2.2. Recent early years research
According to Roberts-Holmes (2005), Although a lot of research has been written about early childhood and children, there is still a great deal that is unknown concerning young children growing up in society (p.4). While many studies and investigations analyse the adult-child interaction within the classroom setting, little research is conducted in regard to the outside realm. The situation is complicated by the fact that the recent early years research provides rather contradictory results on the interaction between children and adults in the outdoor environment. For instance, Drake (2001) claims that the outside setting is an extension of the whole setting in which all other areas of provision can be set up (p.31).


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