Enhancing Early Childhood Education Achievement: Integrating Inclusive Teaching Through Playful Learning and Classroom Dynamics as a Catalyst

Developing an inclusive learning environment in early childhood education (ECE) is vital because it prepares children for future success in school and society by recognising and responding to their differences. The objective of the present study was to explore the mediational effect of student engagement (SE) between the relationship of inclusive teaching practices (ITP) and student academic performance (AP) in ECE with the intent to find the moderating effect of play support (PS) and the class environment (CE) for the relationship between ITP and AP. The research design of the current quantitative study was a cross-sectional survey. The participants were 300 ECE teachers who work in public schools of the Kasur and Lahore districts in Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire. Simple linear regression and Process macro were used to test four hypotheses. After analysis, it was revealed that ITP contributes significantly (beta = 0.396, t(298) = 7.44, p < 0.001) to the AP of students in ECE. SE partially mediates (B = 0.231, SE = 0.043, p = 0.000) the relationship between ITP and AP. PS [F(3, 296) = 48.239, p < 0.001] has a statistically significant effect, and CE [F(3, 296) = 50.663, p < 0.001] has a marginally significant moderating effect on the relationship between ITP and AP. It is recommended that longitudinal and qualitative studies be conducted to improve generalisability and understand the phenomenon in depth.