Play-Integrated Learning Approach as Determinants of Kindergarten Learner’s Creativity, Motivation and Social Skills

Abstract

Playintegrated learning approach was examined in this study as an instructional framework that intentionally embeds play into daily kindergarten activities to support holistic early childhood development, focusing on public elementary schools in CAMAG Districts during S.Y. 2025–2026. The research aimed to describe how this approach was implemented in the classroom and to determine its influence on kindergarten learners’ creativity, motivation, and social skills, with specific objectives that included profiling 96 kindergarten teachers and 180 parents who are randomly selected in terms of age, sex, educational attainment, teaching position, length of service, and training hours, mapping the extent of implementation across six domains—imagination and creativity, cognitive growth, emotional and behavioral benefits, literacy improvement, greater independence, and physical fitness—measuring the level of learners’ creativity, motivation, and social skills, and analyzing whether the extent of implementation significantly predicted these outcomes, ultimately generating an action plan to strengthen play integrated practices. Using a descriptive correlational design and an adapted fivepart survey instrument analyzed through weighted mean, correlation, and regression, the study revealed that teachers and parents were predominantly young, well educated, and experienced, and that play integrated learning was implemented at a Very High level across all six domains, with Very High perceived levels of creativity, motivation, and social skills, all of which were significantly and positively predicted by the approach. The findings underscore the importance of embedding purposeful, structured play in kindergarten instruction and recommend that teachers design explicit play based activities that connect to real life routines and higher order thinking, that school heads institutionalize play integrated learning through training and classroom support, that DepEd offices align curriculum and standards with playbased strategies, that LRMDS and other units provide standardized play resources, that local government and community stakeholders extend play beyond the classroom, that parents replicate play integrated routines at home, and that future researchers conduct longitudinal and comparative studies to further validate and refine the impact of play integrated learning on early childhood outcomes. In accordance with the study, kindergarten students' creativity, motivation, and social skills are greatly enhanced by play-integrated learning in public primary schools in Bohol's 3rd Congressional District. The results show benefits in every category, indicating that improving this strategy can improve important early development outcomes.