The study of
M
play
TCU professor’s research on action leads to local initiative
aybe the best way
to help students
learn is to let
them play. Play is
a required element for children. It’s
innate and can produce healthier,
more successful youngsters.
That’s the approach being studied by Dr. Debbie Rhea, professor
and associate dean for health sciences and research in TCU’s Harris
College of Nursing & Health
Sciences. She spent a six-month
sabbatical in Finland studying its
school system and how the nation
landed atop the world rankings in
student performance.
The small nation of 5.5 million
actually delays formal education until age 7, scorns standardized testing
until age 16 and keeps the school
day shorter than 6 hours — including 75 minutes of recess.
A recent global report by the
education firm Pearson ranked
Finland and South Korea as having
some of the world’s best education
systems based on international test
scores, graduation rates and the
number of students who go on to
higher education. The United States
came in 17th.
Rhea