Examination of class teachers' opinions on primary school children's playgrounds

This research aimed to examine the opinions of classroom teachers regarding primary school playgrounds. The participants of the research are classroom teachers working in Malatya. Qualitative research method was adopted in the research. In the research, a case study approach was adopted as the opinions of classroom teachers regarding children's playgrounds and the current situation were discussed in detail. It was planned and implemented by taking into account the steps found in the case study. While determining the classroom teachers in the study group, the criterion-based sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used and face-to-face interviews were held with 20 classroom teachers. Demographic information about the teachers participating in the research is as follows: The average age of the classroom teachers participating in the research is 42-43; Of the 20 classroom teachers who participated in the research, 19 were undergraduates and 1 classroom teacher was an education institute graduate; The classroom teachers who participated in the research stated during the interviews that they had been working for an average of 19-20 years and that almost all of them had changed schools more than 3 times. An unstructured interview form was used as a data collection tool. The collected data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Findings of the research: 12 teachers played football, 10 teachers chased, 8 teachers jumped rope, 7 teachers played high ball and dodge ball, 6 teachers played hide-and-seek, 4 teachers played tissue snatch, 3 teachers played corner snatch, 2 teachers wolf daddy, basket throwing. and line games, and 1 teacher said throwing a ball. The school garden and the building are used as playgrounds in schools, and the width of the school garden according to the school population was found sufficient by 14 teachers and insufficient by 6 teachers. 20 teachers said that the walls and floor of the existing school garden were made of keystone and parquet, and 2 teachers found these materials suitable, while 18 teachers found these materials unsuitable for children. 13 teachers said that the green areas in schools were insufficient, and 7 teachers said that they were sufficient. When they compared the schools they worked in before, 13 teachers said that there was no equality of opportunity, and 7 teachers said that there was equality of opportunity in a negative way. In terms of game tools, 8 teachers said that there was nothing, and 12 teachers said that the tools available were insufficient. It was observed that only 3 teachers participating in the research took a mind and intelligence course, but 20 teachers included it in their lessons. 18 teachers said that they played digital games and found them useful, while 2 teachers said that they did not play digital games. In the playgrounds that the teachers will design themselves, 14 will be soft ground, 6 will be hard ground, 16 will be rich in play equipment, 2 will have classic play tools, 2 will consist of empty space, and 15 will be both open and closed playgrounds. 3 of them said they wanted to design indoor playgrounds and 2 of them said they wanted to design open playgrounds. As a result, the research was similar to many other studies and it was determined that school gardens were generally inadequate in terms of playgrounds. Keywords: Primary School, Child, Playground, Play