Browsing by Subject "daghem"

The aim of this study was to find out what physical education in kindergarten looked like during different time periods and what kind of vision educators had on it. The study covers three time periods 1915–1925, 1965–1975 and 2005–2015. This is a qualitative study with literature review as a method. The material for the literature review was collected from different libraries, from the archives of the Ebeneser home and from the Internet. The material was analyzed and the three time periods were compared to each other. Although there’s been used different types of documents, this study has been able to provide an insight on how physical education looked like and what kind of role it had in these time periods. This study concludes that physical education has changed over the years. It has gained a stronger position in the planning of day care activities and its importance in children’s physical development has grown. Furthermore, "gymnastics" in kindergarten has looked different depending on the time period and you can see how the emphasis in physical education has changed during these periods.

The aim of this study is to assess the view of kindergarten teachers on children’s need for physical activity, how they perceive the connection between children’s physical activity and ability to concentrate, as well as the experience they have of this connection. In the theoretical part of the work, I discuss current views on children’s motor development, children’s need for physical activity, children’s cognitive development, and how the regulatory documents deal with physical activity. The qualitative study was carried out by interviewing three kindergarten teachers at three different kindergartens in Helsinki. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then analysed. The results indicate that kindergarten teachers perceive a connection between children’s physical activity and ability to concentrate, in agreement with prevailing theories. They realize the importance of physical activity for children’s health and development, and fulfil the official requirements for physical activity. They realize as well the importance of emphasizing the importance of physical activity for health to children as well as to parents and other personnel at kindergartens. With the reservation that only three kindergarten teachers were interviewed, the results of this study indicate that kindergarten teachers at kindergartens realize the importance of physical activity for the development of children, and that great emphasis is placed on satisfying children’s need for activity.

Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract This bachelor’s thesis addresses the health of children in day care center age by a study conducted on exercise recommendations for the target group at hand. A general worry and discussion has risen round the health and wellbeing of children in our community. The day care centers, as well as the parents both play a key role when aiming for a sustainable and healthy development. The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to investigate to what extent the goals and the new exercise recommendations are met and especially whether the recommended amount of pacey physical activities (1hour/day) for 3 to 6-year-old children are fulfilled at the day care centers as compared to the home. I have produced different research results all of which demonstrates that the worry about the health of children is legitimate and that a discussion around the theme is relevant. For gathering data, I have conducted three interviews with two nursery teachers and one social worker. I observed the environment and equipment at the day care centers in connection with the interviews. In addition to the interviews, I have gathered data from the parents of the children via a questionnaire addressing the children’s leisure time and physical activities. My study shows that there is a general, intentional effort on the promotion on the health of children from various parts. There is, however, a tendency arising showing that some children easily may be passivated in the ever so crucial age and stage of evolvement, which may negatively affect the child’s evolvement and health in the long run.