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Tensions arise where teachers used more didactic approaches must now reconcile competing mandated documents, prompting this qualitative case study exploring junior primary teachers’ pedagogy, practice, supports needed for play, and implementation challenges.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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Teacher Education  \n\n| Volume 43 | Issue 1 | Article 7 |\n| --- | --- |\n| 2018\u003Cbr>Embedding Play-Based Learning into Junior Primary (Year 1 and 2) Curriculum in WA\u003Cbr>Jenny A. Jay\u003Cbr>Curtin University, [jenny.jay@curtin.edu.au](jenny.jay@curtin.edu.au)\u003Cbr>Marianne Knaus\u003Cbr>Edith Cowan University, [m.knaus@ecu.edu.au](m.knaus@ecu.edu.au) |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nJay, J. A., & Knaus, M. (). Embedding Play-Based Learning into Junior Primary (Year 1 and 2) Curriculum in WA. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43 (1).  \nRetrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/7](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/7)  \nThis Journal Article is posted at Research Online.  \n[http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/7](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/7)  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nEmbedding Play-Based Learning into Junior Primary (Year 1 and 2)  \nCurriculum in WA  \nJenny Jay  \nCurtin University  \nMarianne Knaus  \nEdith Cowan University  \nAbstract: Governments and their policy decisions inevitably influence the pedagogical practices of teachers. There have been considerable  \ncurriculum changes and national reforms in Australia with the  \nimplementation of two very different national curricula documents in the early childhood sector in the last decade. The political landscape in Western Australia is even more complex with the mandating of the  \nNational Quality Standard (NQS) in all public schools from  \nKindergarten to Year two. The introduction of the NQS has impacted  \non the teaching and learning in the early years of school, and in  \nparticular, the inclusion of play-based teaching strategies. The  \ntensions that arise from the juxtaposition of these mandated  \ndocuments is significant to teachers in Years 1 and 2 who in past  \nyears have been used to a more didactic and structured approach to  \nearly learning. The researchers in this study have sought to explore  \nrelevant and current issues impacting on junior primary teachers’  \npedagogy and practice in relation to the use ofplay to engage  \nchildren in learning. Using qualitative methodology, a case study  \ndesign was chosen and included semi-formal interviews as well as  \ndata collected at teacher collaborative meetings. The research  \nidentified the necessary supports required for implementing play in  \nthe early years of school as well as the challenges experienced by the  \nteachers.  \nIntroduction  \nTeachers have experienced considerable change due to state and national reforms in Australian early childhood education. Implementation of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2010) from Foundation to Year 2 took place in Western Australia (WA) in 2011. Major changes in national policy resulted in a new system for accreditation and regulation being introduced in prior to school settings through a National Quality Framework (NQF)(ACECQA, 2011a). The NQF includes the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)(DEEWR, 2009) and the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2011b) . In contrast to other states, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) approved the application of the NQS in all primary schools in Western Australian, across the early years, that is, from Kindergarten to Year two. The first compulsory year of school in Western Australia is Pre-primary (the year prior to Year 1 in the year children turn five years and six months) . The West Australian education system also offers a year of Kindergarten instruction (the year children turn four years and six months, junior primary commences in Year 1, the year children turn six years and six months of age.  \nVol 43, 1, January 2018 112  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nTeachers in Western Australia who teach in the junior primary years now work with two quite different curriculum documents as well as a set of new school accreditation regulations. In particular, the curriculum documents place very different emphases on the inclusion of play. The pressures that arise f","cbCaiteIQtfeKlPX","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiteIQtfeKlPX","pdf",365463,16,"English","# Introduction\n## Policy reforms and curriculum frameworks\n## Play-based learning in early education\n# Study focus and research approach","[{\"question\":\"What policy change in Western Australia affects early years teaching and learning in the study?\",\"answer\":\"The study highlights the mandated introduction of the National Quality Standard (NQS) in public schools from Kindergarten to Year two.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do tensions arise for teachers in Years 1 and 2?\",\"answer\":\"Teachers must reconcile competing mandated curriculum documents that place different emphases on play, while many previously relied on more didactic and structured early learning approaches.\"},{\"question\":\"What research method does the study use to investigate junior primary teachers’ practice?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses a qualitative case study design, including semi-formal interviews and data collected at teacher collaborative meetings.\"}]","Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Issue 1 - Embedding Play-Based Learning into Junior Primary (Year 1 and 2) Curriculum in WA | PDF",1792077918]