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AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PLAY BANK – A PEER-MEDIATED APPROACH TO DEVELOP THE INTERACTIVE PLAY OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

Pierce, Katherine

[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2014.

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Abstract

An evaluation of the effectiveness of Play Bank – a peer-mediated approach to develop the interactive play of pre-school children.Interactive play in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides crucial opportunities for young children to develop a range of skills which are important for social development. Play Bank provides structured opportunities based on ‘Resilient Peer Treatment’ (Fantuzzo et al. 1996; 2005) for children to engage in peer-mediated play sessions, and has been found to increase the play interaction of shy and withdrawn preschool children in an initial small-scale study by the current author. This research seeks to extend the evidence base for Play Bank in UK schools by examining perceptions of change in young children’s peer interaction and social competence, as well as school staff’s views of the facilitators and barriers to carrying out the intervention. One primary school was identified within the researcher’s current Local Authority and five target children were identified on the basis of teacher observations and EYFS profile scores. The views of 18 peers, two teaching staff and five parents were sought. A multiple embedded case study design was employed, using mixed methods of data collection at three time intervals. The quantitative methods comprised teacher and parent measures of children’s play-based social competence, whole class sociometric nominations and structured observations of children’s free play. Qualitative data were gathered in a semi structured group interview with the two teaching staff. Quantitative data were summarised using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were transcribed and a thematic analysis applied. The findings indicated that children who participated in Play Bank sessions displayed increased peer interaction and play-based social competence over the course of time. The study extends understanding regarding implementation issues for Play Bank and provides further evidence for the effects of Play Bank on young children’s peer interaction and social competence.