Examining Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs about Play in Ghana

Children all over the world engage in play. However, there are variations in their play activities. Play is present in all cultures (Singer & Singer, 1990), involves a wide array of behaviors from decisive to indecisive, and continues to be a key area of study from diversified viewpoints, ranging from ecological to cognitive (Sutton-Smith, 1993; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). Though categorical, criteria, and continuum approaches have assisted in organizing and classifying play activities, no definition or approach has accurately captured the range of behaviors that could be construed as play (Howard, Jenvey & Hill, 2006; Moyles, 2001). Even though play is defined variously by different authors, The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has recognized it as a fundamental right of every child because it is a natural universal phenomenon that is essential for children’s optimal learning and development (Frost & Norquist, 2007; Ginsburg, 2007; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1989