Research Questions/Hypotheses The research questions will be as follows: RQ1. What are

Research Questions/Hypotheses

The research questions will be as follows:

RQ1. What are the challenges of integrating gamification into early childhood classrooms?

RQ2. What are the opportunities for integrating gamification into early childhood classrooms?

RQ3. What is associated with the misuse of gamification in early childhood education?

Results

Data analysis will mark the end of the data collection process. The data from the participants will be analyzed, and the important findings will be documented. The approach to the data analysis will align with the thematic approach. The themes will be defined and organized systematically. Each research question will be used as the broad theme, and the survey question will be analyzed as the sub-themes. During the analysis, each theme will be linked with the research question, and the data from the research participants will be used to support the themes. Quotes from participants’ responses to the survey question will support the identified sub-themes and inform the discussion to gain insight into their subjective experience within the context of ECE.

The thee themes for analysis will be coded as Theme 1, Theme 2, and Theme 3. Theme 1 will align with the research question: RQ1. What are the challenges of integrating gamification into early childhood classrooms?

How do early childhood educators encounter difficulties applying skills and knowledge acquired from in-service training? Under this theme, an analysis will be on the subthemes: early education instructors’ typical workday (organizational factors), the school culture and the nature of the PD, consistency of the implementation of the in-service skill, early education teachers’ attitude toward PD, and when difficulties are encountered. This analysis will assume that internal and external variables intersect and affect the ECE’s ability to transfer knowledge in practice with gamification. In theme two, meaning from the data will seek to provide answers to research question 2: RQ2. What are the opportunities for integrating gamification into early childhood classrooms?

When do early childhood educators encounter difficulties applying skills and knowledge acquired from in-service training. In this section, the analysis will focus on the sub-themes related to past in-service training and the needs of the early education teachers; challenges post the in-service training; strategies to overcome change resistance; and educators’ view on the need for collaboration in in-service training. Unlike the analysis approach in Theme 1, theme 2 specifically focuses on the barriers with a keen interest in in-service training.

Theme 3 will align with the research question: RQ3. What is associated with the misuse of gamification in early childhood education? In this section, the analysis will focus on

The underlying assumption during the analysis is that early childhood education teachers might have successfully enrolled in the in-service training and gained skills. Still, the competencies accrued do not align with the educational or learners’ needs.

Chapter Summary

This chapter documents the data collection, analysis, and result presentation process. The data collection process will be undertaken through an online survey, with purposeful sampling for identifying the needed participants. The preference for the online approach is attributed to the cost aspect and the ease of distributing the data collection tools. The participant’s work schedule required a convenient survey approach that would not affect normal work hours. The study participants will be accrued from a general population of early childhood education teachers, with purposeful sampling used to select the study participants. In this study, there will be 10-12 participants or until saturation is reached to provide answers to the research question.

The inclusion criteria focused on teachers who have one year of teaching experience in an early childhood classroom setting.. Only participants who will consent to the study will be enrolled and provided with the data collection tools. Data collected will be sorted and coded, while the thematic analysis will be used to make sense of the data collection. The results will be discussed per the identified themes and participant codes used to provide specific quotes and perspectives from the survey. The research questions were used as the main themes, while the survey question was used as the sub-themes during data analysis. Quotes from the participants were used to support each underlying theme and help make a connection with past studies. Chapter 5 will provide a detailed discussion of the results while comparing and contrasting them with past studies.