A cross-cultural study on preservice early childhood educators’ definitions of play and preparedness to facilitate playful experiences

Abstract

Children’s play is one of the fundamental ways in which they learn about the world around them, but one that is largely difficult to define from an early childhood perspective. Teachers, parents, and children have their own unique ways of looking at and defining play. The present study looked at how preservice early childhood educators (n = 361) from six countries understood, defined, and would facilitate play. Many of the preservice early childhood educators studied reported that they have not taken a course devoted to children’s play so facilitating play into the classroom curriculum could be a challenge. Preservice educators described play as creative, imaginative, and important for learning, with activities defined as play to be dancing, arts and crafts, and outdoor experiences. Play was viewed as fun with a priority to learning and a lesser focus on children’s socialization and holistic development. Based on the cultural influences from each country, it is clear that culture itself exerts an influence on how play is defined and how preservice educators define and understand it. Future research should look at how such definitions and understandings of play lead to the willingness of future educators to afford time for it in their classrooms.