Today's educational approach aims to develop individuals' interests and abilities and equip them with skills, rather than merely transferring pure knowledge. The preschool education period has vital importance in acquiring these skills. During childhood, play is seen as a significant tool that contributes to the areas of physical-psychomotor, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. In this context, the master's thesis titled "Evaluating Play in Preschool Education According to Teacher Views," completed by Narin Bozan in 2014, presents a current study in this field.

The study was conducted in a descriptive model. The study group of the research consists of a total of 175 preschool teachers working in 30 schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the city center of Diyarbakır during the 2013-2014 academic year. 165 of these teachers are female and 10 are male. Looking at the age range of the participants, it is seen that 48% are 20-30 years old and below, 40% are between 31-40 years old, and 12% are 41 years old and above. The data was collected through the "Scale for Determining Preschool Teachers' Views on Play Activities," which was specially developed for this study, and a personal information form. The obtained data was analyzed using the SPSS 21.00 software package.

According to the findings of the research, it was determined that teacher views regarding the use of play in preschool education did not show a significant difference according to the variables of gender, educational status, age group worked with, and class size. This situation suggests that regardless of education level or gender, teachers have similar views on the importance of play in child development and learning. However, a significant differentiation was observed according to the age variable. It was determined that teachers aged 41 and over have more positive views regarding the effect of play on learning and development. This situation can be interpreted as the awareness of the role of play in education increasing as teachers' professional experience increases.

When the professional seniority variable was examined, it was determined that there was a significant differentiation in the sub-dimension of the effect of play on learning. It was found that the views of teachers with 1-5 years and 21 years or more of seniority regarding the effect of play on learning are higher compared to other seniority groups. This supports the idea that both the theoretical knowledge of young teachers who have just started the profession and the practical experience of experienced teachers reinforce the importance of play. Employment status also creates a difference in teacher views. It was determined that tenured teachers have more positive views on the effects of play on learning and practice compared to paid (contract) teachers. This finding indicates that working conditions can affect teachers' approaches to educational methods. Furthermore, it is observed that in classrooms with assistant personnel, teachers' views on implementing play activities are more positive.

The results of this research reveal how valuable play, which forms the basis of preschool education, is in the eyes of teachers. Considering the multifaceted benefits of play in child development, it is important to give more space to play-based approaches in educational programs, provide support to teachers on this issue, and make school environments suitable for play. It would be beneficial for more experienced teachers to mentor their newly starting colleagues about the effect of play on learning. Additionally, considering the positive effect of having assistant personnel on implementing play activities, necessary steps should be taken in this area.

We thank Narin Bozan for this valuable study. The full thesis can be accessed via www.tez.yok.gov.tr using the code 381625.