What kind of game do Early Childhood Education students play in Physical Education classes? A Qualitative analysis

The game is essential in childhood, especially to work on content related to Physical Education. At present there are multiple types of games to play with children from 3 to 6 years old in Physical Education or psychomotor classes. The objective of this study is to find out what types of games are used in Physical Education sessions by Early Childhood Education teachers. A semi-structured interview has been carried out with a total of 9 Early Childhood Education teachers from different educational centers throughout Spain. The results obtained indicate that Early Childhood Education teachers mainly use directed play in Physical Education/Psychomotricity classes as opposed to free play. In turn, they opt more for the cooperative game instead of the competitive one. Regarding body expression games, they prefer to use music and dance and imitation games to a lesser extent. There are few who opt for dramatization or the clown and none name creative body narrative games. Some teachers allude to the lack of training in body language. The work of some types of games, such as water games, games in nature or games linked to sliding skills such as skating, skateboarding, cycling or tricycling, has not been verified. It is concluded that despite the existence of multiple types of games, Early Childhood Education teachers choose to give preference to some over others, suspecting that the material or infrastructure barriers existing in educational centers may be a reason for the preference of one type. game over others. In addition to the lack of training, being able to justify the non-playing of some games in the classroom