Chapter 1: Play and Learning in Early Years Education: International Perspectives

Play has long been a central tenet of early childhood education. Despite this, the term play encompasses many different approaches, functions, and roles within early childhood education, and there remains no consensus about specific definitions of play or universal outcomes attributed to play. Early childhood educators, researchers, and policymakers do affirm the importance of play, though often for different reasons and purposes, and, as a result, they enact many different approaches to the provision of opportunities for play.

There is acceptance that play is connected with learning and development, and new approaches to exploring play have provided a range of evidence about the nature and impact of these connections. Nevertheless, there remains much about play and its role in early childhood education that is subject to ongoing examination.