STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE BEYOND NEOLIBERALISM AND THE MARKET A THEORY-DRIVEN REVIEW OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT LITERATURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

DESPITE GROWING EVIDENCE OF ITS DEVELOPMENTAL BENEFITS, SENSORY PLAY REMAINED UNDER- IMPLEMENTED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS, WITH LIMITED RESEARCH ADDRESSING THE MULTILEVEL FACTORS THAT FACILITATED OR INHIBITED ITS PRACTICE, PARTICULARLY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ALL KEY STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING CHILDREN'S VOICES. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE INHIBITING AND FACILITATING FACTORS THAT SHAPED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SENSORY PLAY AND EXPLORATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL KINDERGARTEN IN MACAU. A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED, GROUNDED IN BRONFENBRENNER'S ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY AND THE REGGIO EMILIA PHILOSOPHY, AND ANCHORED IN A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST EPISTEMOLOGY. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ACROSS TWO KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ENROLLING APPROXIMATELY 1,400 STUDENTS FROM 40 COUNTRIES. PARTICIPANTS COMPRISED TWO TEACHERS, TWO TEACHING ASSISTANTS, ONE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR, TEN PURPOSELY SELECTED CHILDREN AGED THREE TO SIX YEARS, AND THEIR PARENTS. DATA WERE COLLECTED OVER APPROXIMATELY FOUR MONTHS THROUGH 12 OBSERVATION SESSIONS, INCLUDING TWO PILOT TRIALS AND FIVE FORMAL SESSIONS PER CLASSROOM, CONDUCTED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH VIDEO RECORDINGS, SUPPLEMENTED BY SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS, PARENT QUESTIONNAIRES, AND RESEARCHER REFLECTIVE FIELD NOTES. THEMATIC ANALYSIS, INCORPORATING OPEN, AXIAL, AND THEMATIC CODING AND CONSTANT COMPARISON, WAS APPLIED ACROSS ALL DATA SOURCES. FOUR KEY FINDINGS EMERGED. FIRST, A SIGNIFICANT THEORY-PRACTICE GAP WAS IDENTIFIED. ALTHOUGH THE ADMINISTRATOR AND PARENTS STRONGLY ENDORSED SENSORY PLAY, AND A PLAY- BASED CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK WAS ADOPTED, TEACHERS AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS CONSISTENTLY FOUND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGING IN PRACTICE. SECOND, SIX MULTILEVEL FACTORS, CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES, ADULT INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOUR, TEMPORAL CONSTRAINTS, SENSORY PERCEPTION, AND THE INSTRUCTOR'S ROLE, FUNCTIONED AS BOTH FACILITATORS AND INHIBITORS, DEPENDING ON HOW THEY WERE ENACTED. THIRD, THE QUALITY OF ADULT-CHILD INTERACTION WAS THE MOST DECISIVE FACTOR: WHEN TEACHERS ACTIVELY FACILITATED SENSORY PLAY THROUGH OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONING AND SCAFFOLDING, CHILDREN DEMONSTRATED RICHER ENGAGEMENT AND EXTENDED VOCABULARY; WHEN ADULTS ADOPTED A PASSIVE OR CONTROLLING ROLE, VALUABLE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WERE DISRUPTED OR LOST. FOURTH, CHILDREN EXPRESSED GENUINE ENTHUSIASM FOR SENSORY EXPLORATION THROUGH VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL CUES, YET ADULT-IMPOSED INTERRUPTIONS AND MANDATORY ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES FREQUENTLY CONSTRAINED THEIR ENGAGEMENT. THESE FINDINGS DEMONSTRATED THAT EFFECTIVE SENSORY PLAY IMPLEMENTATION REQUIRED SYSTEMIC, COORDINATED SUPPORT ACROSS ALL ECOLOGICAL LEVELS. IMPLICATIONS WERE OFFERED FOR TEACHERS, SCHOOL LEADERS, CURRICULUM DESIGNERS, AND POLICYMAKERS, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS DIRECTED TOWARD SUSTAINED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ADEQUATE RESOURCE PROVISION, AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT TO SENSORY PLAY AS A FOUNDATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE.