Play and Learning in the Early Years
From Research to Practice
- Pat Broadhead - Leeds Metropolitan University, UK
- Justine Howard - University of Swansea, UK
- Elizabeth Wood - University of Sheffield, UK
Providing high quality play experiences is an essential part of good early years education, but this can pose a challenge for practitioners who face pressure from a more didactic primary curriculum, and from parents worried that their children will fail to acquire essential skills and knowledge.
By helping the reader to develop their understanding of the complex relationships between play and learning, Play and Learning in the Early Years examines current theoretical perspectives on play, alongside examples of recent and innovative play research from a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. With contributions from leading play scholars, it brings together theory, research, policy and practice in relation to play and learning in early years settings. The emphasis is on the relationship between play and learning, and play and pedagogy, and the need to understand these dimensions more substantially in order to teach with confidence.
Included are chapters on:
- the influence of play on thinking, problem-solving and creativity
- cooperative play and learning
- play, risk and outdoor learning
- learning to play in cultural context
There are chapter objectives, reflective points, reflective tasks and suggestions for further reading throughout, to facilitate critical thinking and encourage independent study. Suitable for early years practitioners, early childhood students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and all those who work with and care for young children, this is an exciting and thought-provoking book.
'This is an authoritative and detailed analysis of the complexities of children's play in different situations. It is made more accessible by the 'reflection points' scattered through the text that encourage the reader to link theory with examples drawn from their own practice. It is an excellent up to date source of reference, and will be of significant interest to anyone wanting to understand more about the true nature of young children's play and how to enhance it' -
Early Years Update
'This is a fascinating textbook about the role of play within the early years sector and highlights how the target-driven approach can create stress for practitioner and child...[This book is] very readable with interesting case studies. It would certainly prompt good discussion at a staff meeting' -
Children and Young People Now
'Designed to help practitioners at all stages of their professional development to understand different aspects of learning through play, the best thing about the book is the enthusiasm each author brings to sharing their research interests with readers. The authors demonstrate how their work can help practitioners to enrich children's early experiences in childcare and education settings, giving them access to deep thinking about the power of play and the confidence to apply new understandings to their own settings' -
Angela Anning, Emeritus Professor, University of Leeds and Visiting Professor, Leeds Metropolitan University
Good general text for the whole FdA Early Childhood Education programme as covers many aspects of the individual modules
A very useful piece which tackles different stances to play. Would be better suited for foundation degree learning but a valuable book regardless
This is accessible and supports the reader's understanding of play and its importance.
An excellent book which gives a good insight into the whole ethos of play based early years curriculum.
Along with many theoretical perspectives this book represents an interesting comparison between concepts of a ‘transmission/directive approach’ and ‘emergent responsive approach’ in providing purposeful learning environments for children. It also gives meaningful argument towards the power of children’s agency. Good use of research.
A great complimentry resource that supports my play and learning unit . There are links to a variety of play ideas and to frameworks that support play and practice. Easy to navigate and use as a reference tool. Students have found the layout easy to use and have commented on the up to date information that aids their study.
an information, easy to use text book
Thought provoking; essential for university students of any HE level in the fields of early years, childhood or early education.
A fasinating read which will help to develop my own continuous professional development. The book will also be strongly recommended to H.E. students to develop their understanding of play and the diverse cultural attitude practitioners may face from parents regarding play.
