Parents and early childhood educators have voiced their concerns about the modern day classrooms, following the decline of play-based learning.
They blame NAPLAN testing and the pressure of success for the decline, with kindergarten and pre-school students now learning at a level equivalent to a year 2 class 25 years ago.
The reduction of free play in pre-schools is creating unnecessary stress in the learning environment and Perth’s Murdoch University senior lecturer in early childhood education Dr Sandra Hesterman said these pressures have made the word play problematic, when free play is the cornerstone of early childhood education.