THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHILDREN’S PLAY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONAL REGULATION IN YOUNGER PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS
Keywords:
children’s play, emotional development, emotional regulation, teacher competences, socio-emotional skillsAbstract
The study examines the role of children’s play as a pedagogical tool for fostering the emotional development of younger primary school pupils, with particular emphasis on how teachers plan, implement, and evaluate different forms of play in everyday school practice. The aim is to determine the extent to which teachers use free, cooperative, symbolic, constructive, and rule-based play to promote empathy, emotional regulation, social skills, and the stabilization of pupils’ self-esteem, as well as to assess the importance of family context and school–parent cooperation in supporting these developmental processes. The research is based on the descriptive method, and data were collected through a survey administered to 50 teachers from three primary schools in the municipalities of Prokuplje and Merošina. The instrument consisted of 22 items focused on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-evaluation of their practices related to the use of play. The sample included teachers aged 28 to 60, the majority of whom were female. The obtained data were processed using descriptive statistical procedures. The results indicate that teachers are generally well-informed about the importance of play for emotional development, but differences exist in the frequency and manner of its application, influenced by professional experience, pedagogical skills, and school context. A moderate relationship was also observed between school–family cooperation and the effectiveness of play-based activities. The findings confirm that systematic and developmentally grounded incorporation of play, accompanied by clear pedagogical mediation, represents a significant factor in pupils’ emotional progress and highlights the need for further professional and methodological training of teachers in this domain.
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