Research Through Play


Book Description

This book focussed on doing research with young children through play, with clear guidance on how to engage in appropriate methods.




Research through Play


Book Description

Doing research with young children can be challenging for many reasons, but this book provides clear guidance on how to engage in appropriate methods. Focusing on researching through play, careful consideration is given to: · the founding principles of playful research · understanding young children’s perspectives · prioritising the rights of the child and the voice of the child · examples of innovative research methods Real life examples and research projects are presented, to enable common challenges to be anticipated and to showcase successful creative approaches, and to inspire new paths in research.




Practice-Based Research in Children's Play


Book Description

There has been a growing awareness in recent years of the importance of play in children's learning and development--but that awareness has not been accompanied by sufficient scholarly attention, outside of conceptual studies and how-to textbooks. This collection fills that gap by bringing together scholars from a range of fields and methodological approaches to look at play from a practice-based perspective. Moving beyond the dominant voice of developmental psychology, the book offers a number of new ways of approaching children's play and the roles of adults in supporting it; as a result, it will be valuable to anyone working with or studying children at play.




Serious Fun


Book Description

A practical book for teachers consisting of 10 YC and TYC articles on the importance of integrating rich content-based, teacher-guided instruction with meaningful child-centered play to nurture children's emerging capabilities and skills.




Play and Literacy in Early Childhood


Book Description

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.




Play and Learning in the Early Years


Book Description

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, this book 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.




The Handbook of the Study of Play


Book Description

The Handbook of the Study of Play brings together in two volumes thinkers whose diverse interests at the leading edge of scholarship and practice define the current field. Because play is an activity that humans have shared across time, place, and culture and in their personal developmental timelines—and because this behavior stretches deep into the evolutionary past—no single discipline can lay claim to exclusive rights to study the subject. Thus this handbook features the thinking of evolutionary psychologists; ethologists and biologists; neuroscientists; developmental psychologists; psychotherapists and play therapists; historians; sociologists and anthropologists; cultural psychologists; philosophers; theorists of music, performance, and dance; specialists in learning and language acquisition; and playground designers. Together, but out of their varied understandings, the incisive contributions to The Handbook take on vital questions of educational policy, of literacy, of fitness, of the role of play in brain development, of spontaneity and pleasure, of well-being and happiness, of fairness, and of the fuller realization of the self. These volumes also comprise an intellectual history, retrospective looks at the great thinkers who have made possible the modern study of play.




Celebrating 40 Years of Play Research


Book Description

Play & Culture Studies is a bi-annual, peer-reviewed series published by the Association for the Study of Play. For forty years The Association for the Anthropological Study of Play (TAASP), now The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) has served as the premier professional organization in academia dedicated to interdisciplinary research and theory construction concerning play. During that time TASP has promoted the study of play, forged alliances with various organizations advancing the cause for play, organized yearly meetings to disseminate play research, and produced an impressive catalog of play research through a variety of publications. Volume 13 of the Play and Culture Studies Series highlights contributions that reflect upon the rich forty-year history of TASP, that explore current research examining the field of play, and that advance future directions for play research.




Learning Through Play, 2nd Edition For Babies, Toddlers and Young Children


Book Description

Praise for the first edition:"The key advantage to this book is the way in which it is easy to read and the amount of information it provides with regard to the role of play in supporting young children's learning." Karen Phethean, University of Winchester"This book is excellent. It is an invaluable resource for both qualified and trainee early years practitioners. Tina Bruce has a real talent with how she expresses ideas. The concepts are presented in an accessible way. The material is suitable across a range of levels of study." Caroline McGrath, Programme Manger for Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies, City of Bristol College in partnership with the University of Plymouth"I would always recommend books by Tina Bruce to my students as she is highly accessible, combining theory and practice closely together. They are attractively laid out and are therefore popular with students." Maureen Brookson, University of East AngliaProfessor Tina Bruce CBE, an acknowledged expert on play, clearly presents the key ideas and demonstrates the best practices for cultivating play in an Early Years setting. The book covers historical perspectives, how we can observe and study play, and the role of play in learning, developing abstract ideas, helping children to relate to one another. She shows that play helps children to achieve the highest form of learning in early childhood.This new edition of Learning Through Play will provide students and practitioners with an invaluable guide to the core values behind play, the importance of play for children from 0 to 5 years old, and practical schemas for getting the best out of play in an Early Years or Educational setting.It will be an ideal text for those studying play at levels 3 and 4, Foundation Degrees, Undergraduate Early Childhood Studies and Primary Education courses, Post-graduate study and for those working in an Early Years setting.




Play and Literacy


Book Description

How do we save play in a standard-driven educational environment? This edited collection, Play and Literacy: Play & Culture Studies provides a direct answer and solutions to this question. Researchers and theorists have argued for decades that play is the best way to learn language and literacy for children. This book provides theoretical and historical foundation of connection between play and literacy, applied research studies as well as practical strategies to connect play and literacy in early childhood and in teacher education. This book features chapters on the history of play and literacy research, book-play paradigm, play in digital writing, book-based play activities, play-based reader responses, classroom dynamics affecting literacy learning in play, and using play with adults in teacher education such as drama-based instruction. Variety of chapters addressing the strong connection between play and literacy will satisfy the readers who seek to understand the relationship between play and literacy and implement ways to use play to support language and literacy.