Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood Education Studies (IJECES) Volume 12, Number 2, November 2023, Pages 123 – 138 e-ISSN: 2476-9584 (Online), p-ISSN: 2252-8415 (Print) Available online at https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/ijeces Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood Education Studies (IJECES) Enhancing Internal Locus of Control in Young Children through Play Activities: A Case of Model-Preschool, Haramaya University, Ethiopia Misahun Shumetu Taye 1 , Tesema Regassa 2 1,2 Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Hawassa University, Ethiopia DOI: 10.15294/ijeces.v12i2.69759 Submitted: 11/06/2023 Revised: 14/08/2023 Accepted: 16/10/2023 ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the practice of play activities in enhancing the internal locus of control among young children at Haramaya University's Model preschool. Employing a qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design, data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with four preschool teachers and one preschool principal and observation of play activities. The data was analyzed through the thematic data analysis technique, from which three major themes emerged: utilization of play activities, teachers' participation in facilitating play activities, and challenges encountered while facilitating play activities. The study's findings indicate that various play activities, such as open-ended play, problem-solving play, and creativity play, promote this crucial developmental skill. The preschool teachers reported employing various strategies to facilitate play activities that foster an internal locus of control, such as providing children with choices and constructive feedback. However, bottlenecks such as an inaccessible school environment, large class sizes, inadequate preschool teacher training, and insufficient resources were also identified as limiting factors in facilitating play activities that encourage an internal locus of control. Ultimately, the research concludes that participation in play activities can effectively aid in developing young children's internal locus of control. This study holds great importance as it furnishes empirical proof to underpin the utilization of play activities as a proficient intervention to amplify the internal locus of control in young children. Keywords: Early Child Hood Education, Locus of Control, Play Activities, Preschool, Preschool Teacher Copyright (c) 2023 Misahun Shumetu Taye & Tesema Regassa Corresponding Author: Misahun Shumetu Taye Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Hawassa University, EthiopiaEmail: mshnshmt22@gmail.com