‘Free play is important for children’s motor development, but how we can supervise it?’ A Phenomenological Study At Early childhood Education

This study aims to determine the perception and implementation of the relationship between outdoor free-play activities to support students’ motor development and teacher involvement during early childhood play. A phenomenological study with the participation of 12 early childhood education teachers who have different backgrounds in the history of teaching experience, age, and gender.

The data were obtained through the results of structured interviews conducted for five consecutive days with each teacher. All data was processed using NVivo 11 for Windows which provides a structure for conducting qualitative investigations to uncover this phenomenon. A total of three themes were produced, namely (i) Perception of the importance of free-play for motor development; (ii) Involvement of teachers during free-play activities; and (iii) Time to do free-play activities.

However, these findings reveal that not all teachers accompany and supervise every activity carried out by children in outdoor play and do not know how the overall picture of motor development is and the availability of fields and playgrounds is limited. Implications for education policymakers, teachers and families about outdoor free-play.

Policy support, policymakers in Indonesia, especially the Ministry of Early Childhood Education to create a conducive environment for outdoor activities, especially when planning school standards and program competencies to support holistic early childhood development.

Keyword : Free-play outdoor activities, Motor development, early childhood education, Phenomenological Study.