Understanding Young ChildrenÆs Learning through Play: Building playful pedagogies

What is playful learning?What are playful pedagogies?This book introduces, theorises and practically applies these two recently emerging ideas which now underpin the Early Years Foundation Stage and, increasingly, Key Stage 1 classrooms. By offering accessible insights into key theories as well as numerous ideas for practical application in classroom or early years setting, the authors show how to develop children's 'playful pedagogies' in the classroom whilst still implementing curricula requirements.In both indoor and outdoor settings, the book explores 'open-ended role play', (or 'the whatever you want it to be place' ) and illustrates how themes in children's play reflect their interests, their experiences, their knowledge gained at home and their cultural heritage. By showing how children become familiar and skilful within open-ended play environments, the authors have seen children's co-operative skills develop over time as they become connected communities of learnersThe book also shows just how interested parents can become involed in playful learning. Parents' knowledge and understanding, alongside that of the educators', helps to build a bridge between home and school that makes playful learning a universally understood experience by all adults involved with the child.This book is co-authored by a play scholar who has been researching play and learning for many years and by an early years teacher who has been working to develop his own ideas about playful learning and playful pedagogies over several years. Supported by a wealth of case study material that has emerged over their years of observing children learning and playing together, this book will be of interest to students of early years education, early years practitioners, and researchers.

Pat Broadhead is Professor of Playful Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University. Andy Burt was the Early Years Coordinator at Fishergate Primary School during the joint research and is now the Deputy Head teacher at Bishopthorpe Infant School in York.