Construction of an instrument to ascertain mothers' understanding of the importance of play in early childhood

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Elizabeth High Busick (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Helen Canaday

Abstract: The importance of purposeful play in early childhood education programs is a growing concern to parents and educators. In order to better explain the significance of play in the life of a young child, leaders engaged in programs for young children must understand the concepts that parents have about play. The primary objective of the study was to identify statements relative to children's play. A second objective was to construct a valid and reliable instrument to ascertain mothers' understanding of children's play. In the first step of the study undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in child development classes at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro wrote descriptive statements relative to the importance of play for children. One hundred and thirty-six items were identified as adequate statements. Two panels were then used to establish content validity. Seventy items were found to be valid by these panels and a Likert-type scale named the Parents' Understanding of Play Scale (PUPS) was formed. The PUPS was administered to 30 graduate students and then to 300 mothers of young children. Two hundred and seventeen of the mothers returned the PUPS for data analysis.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1970

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