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The concerns of an overloaded curriculum persisted in Zambia's education system as far back as 1992. This lasted until 2002 when the number of subjects was reduced from 11 to 5 in primary schools and from fourteen to six in colleges of education. The study established lecturers' views on the integration of music, art and design and physical education subjects into expressive arts in colleges of education in Zambia in order to gain insights on prospects and challenges of how the process of integration was done and its implications on the subjects involved. A qualitative approach was adopted for the study in order to gain an understanding of arts integration through the views of college lecturers who train primary school teachers. Twenty-four lecturers were conveniently selected from ten colleges of education. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed along common themes that arose from participants narratives. The findings revealed that college lecturers saw arts integration as the merging of three subjects into one, a combination of more than two subjects that are related to one another in a number of ways such a s having similar competencies, and merging them into topics. The study reported some benefits and prospects of arts integration as ranging from according lessons a more practical approach, enhancing creativity among leaners, promoting transfer of learning, to supporting collaboration among lecturers and learners. Further, it was found that there were a number of challenges to arts integration ranging from time constraint, lack of human resource, lack of teaching and learning materials to limited knowledge to teach subjects as integrated. The study concluded that lecturers lacked a philosophical understanding of integration and were largely unable to integrate the subjects as expressive arts in actual teaching.

This systematic review is based on studies that explored school readiness and transition through play-based pedagogies in Early Childhood and Primary Education. Relevant literature involved global literature whose search was conducted by independent researchers following the keyword string, which included among others, stakeholders' roles in school readiness, transition, and play-based pedagogies. The literature search was done from May to August 2022 following the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA). Twenty peer-reviewed studies were identified, appraised, and included in the review. Findings from international literature showed that teachers' implementation of play-based pedagogy revealed a significant and positive relationship to all domains of children's holistic development. Learner assessment for school readiness and transitioning from pre-primary to primary through play-based pedagogies included academic, social, and personal learning during periods of play. The types of play-based assessments for school readiness identified included: (1) withdrawal assessment, (2) observational assessment, (3) embedded assessment, (4) teacher questioning/interview, (5) Photographs/videos and (6) documentation walls. While literature showed a positive connection between parental involvement and a child's readiness for school including successful transition from preprimary to primary school, there was limited evidence pointing specifically to the influence of parental involvement in play-based pedagogies for school transitioning.

This research examined the incorporation of play-based learning in Early Childhood Education (ECE) policies across Zambia and twenty other diverse countries. Through document analysis, it uncovers commonalities and disparities in play-based learning principles. While both Zambian and global documents emphasise the significance of play in child development, they differ in scope, regional practices, and emphasis on global advocacy and cultural variations. Zambia's documents highlight specific practices, while global perspectives offer a broader international view. Both stress the multifaceted benefits of play in physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth. In summary, the findings underscored a global consensus on the significance of play-based learning in early childhood education, emphasising its role in holistic child development. Additionally, they highlighted the imperative of recognising cultural diversity and aligning policies with child rights, particularly in the Zambian context. Furthermore, the recommendations were aimed at bolstering the effectiveness of play-based pedagogies in early childhood education. They advocated for celebrating diversity, fostering holistic development, and ensuring the availability of appropriate resources and guidelines to support this approach. These recommendations ultimately seek to enhance the quality of early childhood education in Zambia by embracing cultural diversity, promoting global collaboration, and aligning play-based pedagogies with local and international best practices.

Although learning takes place throughout life, that which occurs during childhood will never be equaled (UNICEF, 2018). Play is a legitimate right in early childhood (Smith, 2013) and one of the most natural pathways to exploration and learning (Saskatchewan, 2018). However, although play is a legitimate right way of learning in Zambia (MOGE 2013), in practice its implementation varies from school to school (Lungu, 2023). This study explored the play-based pedagogies related to play-based learning of ECE teachers in Zambia and their preparedness to use play as a teaching technique. The study employed a concurrent or convergent parallel mixed-method design. A total of 30 ECE teachers across three districts of Zambia participated in this study. One-to-one interviews were used to collect qualitative data, while structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data for the study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to generate descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that a considerable portion (83%) of ECE teachers perceived their training as sufficient for teaching using play-based pedagogies, but a notable minority expressed the need for more effective training and support in this regard. Further, the findings revealed that PBL was widely incorporated in ECE in Zambia. Among the commonly employed PBL pedagogical practices, teachers consistently incorporated elements such as games, role plays and dramatic play, storytelling, outdoor activities, individual work, pair work, group work, demonstrations, as well as rhymes and songs. However, the study noted a concern about the connectedness of play activity with the content of the day. It was observed that there was no connectedness between play activities and the content of the day. In addition, learning was not captivating enough as teachers were not so creative in using play as a vehicle to deliver curriculum content to the learners. These findings have crucial implications for the enhancement of ECE in Zambia. They underscore the value of competency, focused Continuing Professional Development programmes, creative teaching approaches, diversification of play activities, and the intentional alignment of PBL with curriculum content.

While several studies have been done on parental involvement in early childhood education, gaps still exists relating to the conceptualisation of play and play-based learning in different contexts. The various perceptions of play and play- based learning have a strong influence on their involvement in play-based learning activities involving children in Early Childhood Education. Using a qualitative approach, framed within the interpretive research paradigm, this study revealed a disjuncture between the positive perception held by the stakeholders on play and PBL to the reality of play-based learning in the ECE schools. The researchers asked three questions: 1. What are the perceptions of parents, community, and school administrators (teachers and administrators) regarding play and play-based learning? 2. How do these stakeholders get involved in PBL? 3. And what factors influence their involvement? The researchers collected data through key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions and classroom observations. The study established that the involvement in PBL varied among stakeholders. For parents and community members their involvement was often based on solicitation by the school administrators and external development agencies - as opposed to volunteering postulated by Epstein's theory of parental involvement employed in the study. Among the factors that influenced their participation was a general lack of a clear understanding of PBL and their role and functions in PBL and ECE in general. Thus, the study recommends capacity building in PBL for parents, community members and school administrators.