Playful Hands in Motion : a digital guidebook for fine motor development among children aged 2-3 years in early childhood education.

Abstract

The development of fine motor skills during early childhood is a vital area of a child's holistic development. The skills developed range from self-care skills to pre-writing skills, among other areas of development. This thesis was motivated by the lack of theoretical, accessible, and practical resources available to early childhood education and care (ECEC) practitioners to support this important area of development. The question this research sought to answer was: How do we generate theoretical, accessible, and practical resources for the practitioner to support fine motor development? The main focus of the research was generation and pilot-testing the digital guidebook titled "Playful Hands in Motion." The guidebook is specifically generated for educators working with children aged 2-3 and is grounded within the pedagogical principles of the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (VASU 2022), which focuses on play as a learning medium, child holistic development and child-centric.

The aim of this thesis was two-fold. First, to develop an accessible digital pedagogical resource that connects theoretical development with everyday practice, and relatedly, to explore the potential usability, relevance, and valued perspective of ECEC educators. The guidebook connects research-based evidence with physical, practical activity suggestions to develop small muscles of the hand and fingers. The activities were designed to be actioned in everyday practice whilst using play as the most natural and engaging medium for learning and development.

A qualitative research paradigm was used. The research process was structured into two phases. The first phase involved the product-based development of the digital guidebook using established developmental milestones connected to VASU 2022 values. The second phase integrated a qualitative feedback methodology via simulated educator interviews. By creating five unique educator personas offered diverse perspectives about the usability, clarity, content quality, and observable connections to professional practice and curriculum requirements.

The subsequent thematic analysis from the simulated responses demonstrated strong positivity towards the guidebook. Leading themes identified included practical usefulness of the resource, connections to play-based pedagogy, and the successful connections to VASU 2022. Educators agreed the guidebook had well-defined structure, engaging activity suggestions, along with the potential to advance their pedagogic planning and programming to support the development of fine motor skills. The analysis provided suggestions for improvement, through which guidance was provided for the development of future iterations.

Overall, this thesis provides the ECEC profession with a product-based, professional practice resource. "Playful Hands in Motion" serves as an example of how to bridge theory and national curriculum guidelines, into an accessible form to assist educators. The findings confirm the value of offering pedagogical resources to enhance professional practice to enable educators to create rich, developmentally informed learning environments that promote dexterity, coordination and confidence in young children.