CHILDREN’S PEERS’ COMMUNICATION WHILE PLAYING IN DYADS AND TRIADS IN JERUSALEM KINDERGARTEN IN LIGHT OF SOME VARIABLES.

Abstract

This research examines play patterns among 5 years old children during performing peer problem solving tasks in Jerusalem kindergartens in dyads and triads. The study investigates children's communication, collaboration, interaction, resolving conflicts and organizing social roles during structured collaborative peer play tasks. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, 46 children (24 boys and 22 girls) were video recorded from three Jerusalem kindergartens participating in tangram puzzle activities, besides filling a parental demographic questionnaire.

The study identified seven major themes: communication patterns, group size dynamics, gender differences, role distribution, emotional expression, spatial dynamics, and task performance strategies. Findings reveal communication patterns variation between dyads and triads. Besides, gender differences with girls displaying more developed verbal and nonverbal communication repertoires and boys showing more directive, physically assertive behaviors. Nonverbal communication of eye contact, facial expressions, and gestural communication served as the primary channel for peer interaction for both boys and girls.

Secondly, children showed differences in the variables affecting their communication in the peer play groups between boys’ and girls’ groups as girls tended to use more verbal communication and interact with their peers than boys. On the other hand, the results showed no difference relating to the parents’ educational level or to the child order in the family. Besides, the child role did not affect his/her communication pattern verbally or non-verbally.

The research contributes in extending Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development to peer-mediated scaffolding contexts and by integrating Froebel's self-activity principles with contemporary understanding of collaborative learning. A new Collaborative-Developmental Play Framework is proposed, synthesizing cognitive, communicative, social-emotional, and physical-spatial dimensions of early childhood peer interaction.

This research explains understanding peer play in Arab kindergartens in Jerusalem, providing guidance for educational practitioners and policymakers to design more effective early childhood programs that promote inclusive, equitable peer interactions.