The Benefit of Carefully Monitored Unstructured Play or Free Play in Developing and Scafolding Psychosocial and Socio-Emotional Traits of Preschool Children

One of the most crucial aspects of unstructured play is teaching children to recognize and regulate their real emotions. When preschoolers learn these skills, they are more capable of managing their emotions and gain benefits in their later lives. Psychosocial and socio-emotional are powerful emotions, often undeveloped in preschool children. This study is to identify the benefits of carefully monitored unstructured play or free play in developing and scaffolding psychosocial and socio-emotional traits for preschool children. The 12 preschool children were the study's respondents via purposeful random sampling. The research design used in the study was descriptive-inferential. The data analysis utilized the following statistical measures: mean and standard deviation. The mean was used to define the data set in terms of the pupils' pre-test and post-test observation test results from the researcher-made observation test form, and the standard deviation was used to determine the difference in the observed pupils' observation test results between the pre-test and post-test results. A paired t-test is used to establish the p-value and assess whether there is a statistically significant difference between two dependent variables or hypothesis testing from pre-test to post-test results. The finding of a P-value of 0.00 indicates a significant difference between the benefits or development of social-emotional and psychosocial traits in preschool children, comparing the pretest observation results, which lacked careful monitoring of unstructured or free play, to the post-test observation results, which included such monitoring. The findings also indicated a mean difference of -13.100 and a standard deviation of 1.912. Therefore, the results revealed a highly significant difference between the benefits or development of social-emotional and psychosocial traits of preschool children in the pre-test, which did not use the strategy of careful monitoring of unstructured or free play in developing and scaffolding psychosocial and socio-emotional characteristics for preschool children, and the post-test observation results. With these findings, this study recommends that teachers or adults use this strategy to develop or enhance socio-emotional skills such as emotional awareness, social skills, empathy, self-regulation, attachment, and imitation. Additionally, psychosocial traits of preschool children include social skills, emotional regulation, imagination and play, and attachment styles.

Scaffolding and Developing, Descriptive and Inferential, Reseacher -Made Questionnaires, Unstructured Play, Preschool Children

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