While teachers value children's play, they often do not know how to guide that play to make it more educational. This volume reflects current research in the child development and early childhood education fields.

This volume brings together studies, research syntheses, and critical commentaries that examine play-literacy relationships from cognitive, ecological, and cultural perspectives. The cognitive view focuses on mental processes that appear to link play and literacy activities; the ecological stance examines opportunities to engage in literacy-related play in specific environments; and the social-cultural position stresses the interface between the literacy and play cultures of home, community, and the school. Examining play from these diverse perspectives provides a multidimensional view that deepens understanding and opens up new avenues for research and educational practice. Each set of chapters is followed by a critical review by a distinguished play scholar. These commentaries' focus is to hold research on play and literacy up to scrutiny in terms of scientific significance, methodology, and utility for practice. A Foreword by Margaret Meek situates these studies in the context of current trends in literacy learning and instruction. Earlier studies on the role of play in early literacy acquisition provided considerable information about the types of reading and writing activities that children engage in during play and how this literacy play is affected by variables such as props, peers, and adults. However, they did not deal extensively, as this book does, with the functional significance of play in the literacy development of individual children. This volume pushes the study of play and literacy into new areas. It is indispensable reading for researchers and graduate students in the fields of early childhood education and early literacy development.

While teachers value children's play, they often do not know how to guide that play to make it more educational. This volume reflects current research in the child development and early childhood education fields.

This book represents the outcome of the joint activities of a group of scholars who were concerned about the lack of international research in play for children from birth to 3 years. The authors are members of the Organisation Mondiale pour ` l’Education Prescholaire ́ (OMEP). For further information, see http://www.om- ong.net/. The idea of carrying out a research project internationally was born at the OMEP’s World Congress in Melbourne, Australia 2004. All member countries were invited and 10 countries decided to participate, of which three have withdrawn d- ing the process. The reason for this might be that in these countries only one person was working with the project, while other seven countries have been working in a team of two or more persons. The countries that have carried out research and contributed to this book with a chapter each are Australia, Chile, China, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and USA (Wisconsin). For more information about the p- ticipating countries and their corresponding addresses, see Appendix I. This book project started in Melbourne with a discussion about what is general in early childhood education globally, and what is culturally speci c. The discussion was inspired by one of the keynote speakers, Nazhat Shameem (2004), judge in the supreme court in Fiji, when she said: “If we all think we are so different and speci c in each culture, the role of human rights has no value anymore.” We formulated three questions:

This book brings together an international group of researchers reporting on their work about play and early childhood education across 13 countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany, Hong Kong, United States of America, India, The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore, China and Australia. It contributes to growing international conversations about play and the role of play in early childhood education. Each of the chapters in this anthology reflects different directions in research as well as a range of approaches to reconceptualising play. Each researcher questions assumptions underpinning young children’s play and early childhood education and explores the implications of these questions for further research, practice and policy. Chapters report a wide range of innovative and transformative research, focusing on areas such as the play of infants and toddlers, the role of values in play, the complexity of connections between play and learning, motivation, the role and understandings of early childhood educators in promoting children’s play, risky play and the impact of Westernised approaches to play in different contexts. This book argues for the importance of children’s play at a time when there is a great deal of pressure to increase the academic focus of early education and to eliminate play that could be deemed risky. Several authors note moves towards pedagogies of play and explore the potential links between play and learning in early education settings. The research reported in this book is a timely reminder of the value of play, for and of itself, as well as the learning potential of play. It provides a pathway into the debates about the role and value of play in early years education for students, researchers and policy-makers.

This book provides an analysis of children’s play across many different cultural communities around the globe. Each chapter discusses children’s play as an activity important for formal and informal education, mental health and childhood well-being, and children’s hobbies and past-times. Traditional, modern and postmodern play forms are discussed and probed for their meaning within a contemporary global community. Authors address the functions that this phenomenon serves for indigenous cultures and the problems that arise due to the globalization of educational and social resources. Issues that are covered include the importance of conceptualizing the relationship between play and culture, how play varies both within and between cultures, children’s non-play activities in relation to play activities, how play is learned and how adults, parents and teachers, as well as older peers and siblings, are all important influences on the play of children. Questions that are raised include: Is it fair to emphasize the importance of certain kinds of play, such as social pretense play? Is this ethnocentric? Is the mastery of certain forms of play (e.g. socio-dramatic play) during the early years critical in the acculturation process? How are different cultures incorporating literacy props in play, or otherwise developing early educational programmes that use play educationally to foster literacy acquisition? These and many other questions or issues are taken up in this volume. At the heart of the book is a focus on human rights, in particular the Child’s Right to Play as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The book is committed to the principle of all children reaching their full potential and the enhancement of their families, communities, and cultures through play.

Play has always been vital to the field of early childhood education, for teacher educators and early years teachers, as a pedagogy and way of organizing learning. With diverse perspectives from scholars around the world, Teacher Education and Play Pedagogy is a unique text focusing on teacher education for play pedagogy and uniquely blends research and praxis on authentically implementing play practices. This book is divided into two main sections: part 1 unfolds the different ways in which teacher educators have been preparing early years teachers to support children’s play and consider professional preparation for a play pedagogy; part 2 provides information on how teachers take on different roles, act in diverse ways to effectively support children to develop play skills, to learn and develop. With contributions from across the early childhood spectrum, researchers present their empirical work through multiple forms of data with deep reflections and critical stances towards the play pedagogy implementation. Teacher Education and Play Pedagogy is a valuable text for early childhood education undergraduate and graduate courses, for early childhood education researchers, as well as an essential reference for professional development programs and seminars.

′This Handbook offers diverse perspectives from scholars across the globe who help us see play in new ways. At the same time the basic nature of play gives a context for us to learn new theoretical frameworks and methods. A real gem!′ - Beth Graue, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, USA Play and learning scholarship has developed considerably over the last decade, as has the recognition of its importance to children’s learning and development. Containing chapters from highly respected researchers, whose work has been critical to building knowledge and expertise in the field, this Handbook focuses on examining historical, current and future research issues in play and learning scholarship. Organized into three sections which consider: theoretical and philosophical perspectives on play and learning play in pedagogy, curriculum and assessment play contexts. The Handbook′s breadth, clarity and rigor will make it essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students, as well as professionals with interest in this dynamic and changing field. Liz Brooker is Reader in Early Childhood in the Faculty of Children and Learning at the Institute of Education, University of London. Mindy Blaise is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Early Childhood Education at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Susan Edwards is Associate Professor in Curriculum and Pedagogy at Australian Catholic University. This handbook′s International Advisory Board included: Jo Aliwood, The University of Newcastle, Australia Pat Broadhead, Leeds Metropolitan University, Australia Stig Brostrom, Aarhus University, Denmark Hasina Ebrahim, University of the Free State, South Africa Beth Graue, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, USA Amita Gupta, The City College of New York, CUNY, USA Marjatta Kalliala, University of Helsinki, Finland Rebecca Kantor, University of Colorado Denver, USA Colette Murphy, Trinity College, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Ellen Sandseter, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Norway