Assessment in childhood is an important process for the determination of development and health patterns in a child. Herndon (2006) outlines that play, which is one of the most motivating and enjoyable children’s activities, is an excellent tool for assessment.
According to Kelly and Lyalls (2009), children spend most of their time playing and therefore, it is almost a daily routine for them as well as a reflection of their developmental level.
Gullo (2005) explains that Play-based –assessment is becoming increasingly popular because they provide realistic and valid assessments for monitoring of progress. This is an appropriate approach for the evaluation of young children needs (NSAP, 2005).
One of the advantages of this assessment method is that children are at play almost all the time. According to Meisels and Atkins-Burnett (2000), play-based assessment is a culturally sensitive practice for the evaluation of development in children. According to Deiner and Deiner (2010), this form of assessment can be useful for the identification of strengths and weaknesses in children as well as those with specific needs for intervention.
The use of this method became more popular after researchers questioned the use of other standardized tests where children’s assessment was done under controlled environments (Winnick, 2011).
These types of tests have been questioned for not providing the required information for the provision of intervention procedures in childhood development (Meisels and Atkins-Burnett, 2000). Therefore, the use of alternative methods such as play-based assessments is preferable for these purposes.
Play-based assessment was derived from some psychoanalytic work performed on children in the 20th century (Athanasiou, 2007). During this period, therapists assessed the mental and health needs of children by observing the children’s play activities. This information was used to aid in the therapy process.
Athanasiou (2007) discusses that many school psychologists began using this type of assessment as a strategy for behaviour observation in children. This indicates the importance of the procedure for psychologists working with children as also noted by Wolraich (2003).
With time, attention to play-based processes in childhood development began increasing. This can be evidenced by the occurrence of many publications by different authors such as Linder (1990) whose book gives a model for the assessment process.
According to Athanasiou (2007), the specific procedures and materials that are required for different types of assessment vary according to the guidelines, equipment and training provided. Play-based intervention does not need any unusual equipment. The materials used are common play equipment for children, such as toys, crayons puzzles and dolls.
This makes it easy for the assessment to be conveniently done without much cost. The assessment can be conducted at any place but it is particularly good to use the children’s familiar play area or early childhood room. Athanasiou notes that the assessment can be successful as long as there is enough range of toys and other relevant playing materials to elicit the required range of childhood behaviours.
According to Frey and Kaiser (2011), play can be successfully used as in early childhood to assess the development of children. According to the research that the authors conducted, the diversity in the objects used in play can be useful in learning activities, and in the evaluation of how children respond to different environments.
The research also showed that children could develop various skills during their development by involving themselves in a range of play activities.
Higher development patterns were observed in those children who engaged in pretend-play with others as opposed to the children who used a limited range of play objects and activities. This shows how play is important in childhood development, hence its relevance in the assessment of the same (Salvia, Ysseldyke and Bolt, 2007).
Another study done by Hyvonen (2011) incorporated the views of teachers and other individuals that spent time with children to determine the impact of play on the learning capabilities of children. Interviews conducted with the teachers indicated that they could identify a child’s developmental level according to the play activity in which the child is involved. This study was conducted in Finland.
It shows the overall importance of incorporating play activities in assessment and in the learning process in children. The study also showed that the creativity of a child could be assessed by the role taken during play or the complexity of the play activity.
Through this study, the author indicates the importance of play-based developmental assessment of children and the incorporation of this activity in the learning process, as also outlined by Waddell and McBride, (2008).
Most of the time, play based assessment is successfully practiced in regard to specific cognition without much regard to motor, communication or social domains. This is in accordance with Benson and Haith (2009) where they discuss the best practices for intervention using play-based assessment methods. They discuss different aspects of the assessment and give guidelines to some of the best applicable practices.
They also discuss some of the considerations for a successful and all-round assessment. Some of these considerations include the training that may be required or the necessary equipment for a playful childhood engagement. The relevance of this to the learning process is also considered.
According to Kelly and Lyalls (2009), the techniques used in play assessment should always be relevant to the variety of developmental aspects in children.
In relation to the types of practices used in play assessments, there are several. The play assessment scale, for example is used to evaluate the development of skills in young children, especially those below 36 months. This is according to Athanasiou (2007), who also explains the organization, sequence of the scale, and how it is used in coding children’s play behaviour.
Here, assessment can only be done after observation of children in spontaneous play. One of the most well described assessment techniques is trans-disciplinary assessment, which captures the play activity of children in collaborated with the caretaker and/ or their parents (McCall,and Craft2000).
The child is observed in the free play area by a team of different individuals from different fields and disciplines. The observations made by these individuals are shared among them, and hence the final perspective of the child’s level of development and skills is more objective (Clift, Stagnitti and DeMello, 2000).
This method, according to Brassard and Boehm (2008), involves a session where these individuals observe the children during play. However, before this session is started, the professional liaises with the children’s parents and caregivers to determine any relevant information regarding the function and play pattern of the children (Tamis-LeMonda, Chen and Bornstein,1998).
In this way, the professionals can have an established background of the children that will help them to avoid wrong assessments or mistakes during the session. The team that is responsible for making observations is divided in to several groups where one group is responsible for engaging with the child to get up-close assessment. This is the group of play facilitators.
The main facilitator talks with the parent of the child about the process of evaluation and development procedure. This session can only be successful when it is done in a large playroom or classroom where the children feel that they are in their natural environment. Although the play facilitator can participate during the child’s play, they cannot initiate play with the child (Wright, 2010).
Initiation of play is best done by the child because the assessment team is interested in such information. For example, it may be important to know the skills and complexity of play that the child chooses or the preference of play material. This is factored in during the final reporting of the assessment exercise.
It is also good when the child plays alone without imposition of the facilitator. During the second phase, the adult facilitator can try to encourage the child to perform some play activities that the observers have not yet encountered. This is important because children always give undivided attention to their play activities, and hence a child may only participate in one type of play during a session.
In order to observe a diversity of behaviour, responses, skills and development level in a child, the assessment team requires the participation of the child in more than one play activity this is detailed in Green-Hernandez, Singleton, Aronzon and Aiges (2001). A successful play assessment, therefore, involves the observation of children’s play activities using different play objects and materials.
The child is also observed while playing with other children. This is helpful for the observation of the child’s interaction skills to determine and compare the development levels of all children (Drewes & Schaefer, 2010).
According to Fenson & Ramsay, (1980), assessment can also be done using performance based strategies. This is where a child’s teacher determines whether any modifications given to the child during play have shown any benefits. However, the child has to be in the best condition for normal play. This means that the child should not be sick during assessment since this can affect the observations made during assessments.
Cognitive developmental patterns are observed when children play with a wide range of toys and other play materials that can successfully elicit different behaviours and responses in children. This diversity is important because it can show the level of development as well as the amount of skill that a child possesses during play.
Other research activities done using play-based assessment show the validity of the various forms applied during assessments. Finn and Fewell (1994), for example, found that the play assessment scale correlates with all the standardized as well as other non-standardized measures of cognitive behaviour.
This is also the case with adaptive, communication and motor skills in children. Another study conducted by Myers, McBride, and Peterson (1996) shows most parents and professionals preferred the trans-disciplinary assessment model as opposed to other standard measures of development and skill in children.
This is because the play-based assessment model incorporates the involvement of many professionals who conduct independent observations and later share their notes. The final report is usually a refined one that shows a precise assessment of the children discussed in that particular study.
Farmer-Dougan and Kaszuba (1999) conducted a study on the validity of play-based assessments. This study showed that these assessments are adequately valid as measures of development in children.
Some research has also been done on the selection of toys and other play materials that children can use during play-based assessments. This is because most play material is sensitive to the age of the child and will not elicit the expected behaviour if used by children from other age groups.
Therefore, procedures done in play-based assessment should always ensure that the toys used are appropriate for the age of the child and the approximate developmental level (New and Cochran, 2007). Kay (2005) outlines that the gender of the child is also considered during the selection of play material.
This is because boys and girls have different preferences when it comes to the choice of toys and hence such preferences have an impact on the outcomes of play-based assessments (Gargiulo and Kilgo, (2010).
One such research was done by O’Brien and Huston (1985) and showed that children develop different preferences for toys as early as when they are two years of age. The tendency to play with toys stereotypically associated with a child’s own gender is more pronounced in boys than it is in girls (Barnett, Macmann and Carey, 1992).
Hence, girls can be seen to play with neutral toys as opposed to boys who would normally be attracted to male stereotyped toys. Another similar study was done by Cherney, Kelly-Vance, Gill-Glover Ruane and Ryalls (2003) where they found that the toys preferred by girls elicited a higher level of play and excitement as compared to those preferred by young boys.
For example, boys would prefer to play with toy cars and trucks, whereas girls would be interested in dolls and puzzles, amongst others (Moyles, 2005)..
According to Waddell and McBride (2008), play-based assessment procedures are appropriate for children, especially those with special needs and conditions such as autism. When a child has such special conditions, the trans-disciplinary type of assessment is useful for a thorough assessment of the child’s development level.
Details given by Waddell and McBride (2008) show that this type of assessment occurs in a typical environment for the child where they can participate in the most preferred activities. Children with autism, for example, would prefer to participate in this type of assessment as opposed to other standardized procedures for assessment (Jackman, 2012).
Most literature available for play-based assessment in children shows the importance of this method in establishing the levels of development as well as skills in children. A number of these texts discuss the importance of this method in the assessment of children with special needs and conditions, such as autism.
Future research on this matter may involve investigation into the assessment of children from different social classes using play-based methods for both familiar as well as unfamiliar environments. This may provide knowledge on whether a child’s play-behaviour in a novel environment involves more exploratory play than pretend play.
“Hand out”
The aim of this handout is to discuss how play can be used to evaluate a child’s level of development, mental health, social skills, as well as personality. Play-based assessments procedures used with children are helpful in determining their development level as well as the skills of a child during their early ages.
Most of the time, play-based assessment is done with children with special needs, such as autism, developmental delay, mental retardation, hyperactivity disorder as well as attention deficit condition.
This delay is when a child shows abnormal developmental levels in some common areas for their age. Such a lag in development may be lateness in crawling in a child or an extended crawling period when the child could be walking (Barnett, Macmann & Carey, 1992).
Approximately eight percent of children show developmental delays between the time they are born to their sixth birthday. (Athanasiou, 2007). In such cases, doctors and other specialized professionals (in childhood behaviour and development) try to find the source of the lag in development by coming up with an assessment plan. One of the well-established childhood development assessment plans is the pay-based assessment.
Assessment in a child’s development incorporates an assessment into a number of factors such as the physical review and condition of the child. This is where the knowledge, personality and skills of a child can be observed. The findings here are used for developing ways of improving the child’s development level (Gullo, 2005).
Most of the time, assessments are done during play activities. This is because children can elicit a wide range of behaviour and skills during play than any other activity. In fact, children tend to involve themselves in play most of the time, irrespective of the occasion, time or place.
Play-based assessment is, therefore, the best way to assess the development level of a child. According to the age of the child, they will play with different toys and materials. The complexity and play pattern of a child is useful because it shows their coordination levels as well as the level of development (Kay, 2005).
Children with development problems and conditions such as autism normally prefer this method to other standard methods (Jackman, 2012). This is because it is normally done in the child’s natural environment. During the process, the child may be introduced to other play materials that they are not familiar within order to observe their adaptation skills during play.
In play-based assessments, monitoring of children is achieved in various conditions, such as when a child is playing by herself, with peers or parents. Play is, therefore, a diagnostic framework that can bring out a child’s abilities, skills, as well as feelings (Salvia, Ysseldyke & Bolt, 2007).
For future work on this topic, researchers should focus on how unfamiliar play environments affect adaptation behavior in children. It is also recommended for researchers to investigate whether the type of care a child receives from parents or other caregivers affects play behavior. This may shed light on patterns for development of different behavior elicited during child play.
References
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