article · Journal of Research in Childhood Education
Traditional children's games serve as effective instructional tools for promoting holistic early childhood development among young learners in rural Zimbabwe. Drawing on indigenous knowledge systems encompassing linguistics, crafts, cognitive abilities, and clinical psychology, research examined how traditional play supports learning. The study engaged ten early childhood development educators across five rural provinces through questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. Findings indicate that these indigenous games recognise children's specific socio-cultural contexts, making them culturally relevant educational resources. Integrating such cultural heritage assets into classroom instruction fosters practical competencies that remain useful and sustainable in pupils' daily lives and future growth. Consequently, educators are encouraged to maximise the adoption of traditional games to enrich teaching practices and improve developmental outcomes.
Conventional early learning programmes often overlook local culture. Demonstrating that indigenous games provide effective, context-aware foundations for cognitive and social skills offers a cost-effective, culturally grounded method to improve early childhood development. This approach helps educators in rural communities utilise accessible local heritage resources to support long-term child development without relying on expensive imported materials.
This research represents early-stage applied educational research that could inform curriculum developers, educational publishers, and teacher-training bodies seeking culturally relevant pedagogical resources. Potential applications include structured play-based curriculum modules and instructional guides for early childhood development centres. However, the abstract describes qualitative research in rural schools and does not indicate an immediate commercial product or a direct commercialisation pathway.
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This study demonstrates the richness of traditional children’s games as an instructional tool for promoting holistic child development at the early childhood development (ECD) level. The study examines traditional children’s games from rural Zimbabwe. Valuable insights were drawn from different dimensions of indigenous knowledge systems, ranging from linguistics, crafts, cognitive skills, and clinical psychology. In this grounded theory study, participants included 10 ECD educators from rural schools in five selected Zimbabwean provinces. The researchers employed systematic random sampling technique. Data were generated using questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and observations conducted in the five participating schools. The multiplicity of data generation methods enhanced validity of the data through triangulation. Findings suggested that traditional children’s games take cognizance of children’s socio-cultural context and are thus culturally relevant. The researchers recommend that ECD educators should maximize use of traditional children’s games in teaching. The skills that children develop in the classroom through cultural heritage resources like games are useful and sustainable in everyday life and the future.
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DOI: 10.1080/02568543.2021.1982084
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