Children learn in a different way from adults. They learn from interacting with other people, physical experiences, personal feelings, and imagination. Play is an excellent way of helping children to connect logic and imaginations to understand things. For children, play is an activity that involves the whole body, and it helps them develop skills they can use in the future. Play promotes muscle development and helps children develop emotional and mental muscles as they create imaginative worlds with rules that determine the terms of play. Through play, children are able to control their emotions as they take up some roles in the play. Taking up different roles in a play helps children develop social skills that will help them become adults that can thrive in different professional and personal environments. In an academic set up, play is vital for a child’s growth and learning. Over time, the play has undergone significant changes with the quality of play being undermined in schools. Teachers are replacing play-based learning with basics-based learning as they focus on teaching children basics. This paper evaluates the key theoretical concepts that underpin play and the environment by highlighting what play is, the role of teacher to play, and the complexities of play in an academic setting.
Comparison of theories of play
According to Groo’s classical theory of the development of skills, play is a serious activity and helps children develop skills to use when they are adults. When children take different roles in the play, they learn the skills required for one to be the person described in the play. Groos explains that children are helpless at birth, and they should pass through a period of incubation to mature. During the incubation period, the play serves as a mode of learning, which helps them develop different skills. According to Piaget’s contemporary theory of cognitive development, play helps children practice what they have learned and does not learn new things. In a play, children take different roles, and they demonstrate what they know about the role they have taken. Piaget explains that play in education is vital because it is a process of reflective symbolic development. If a child can clearly demonstrate what is done by a specific role, then the child able to reflect what was learned and demonstrate it symbolically.
The classical theories focus on the development of a child and the role of play in this development, but it does not explain the external factors that may have an impact on the development of skills. Groo’s theory explains the play help children develop skills, but does not explain why there is a difference between the roles children play when young and the occupation they choose in the future. The changes happen because society and the environment also help children to develop skills. On the other hand, the contemporary theory focuses on the hidden influences of the play and the external factors such as a culture that impact the role of play. According to both classical and contemporary play theories, teachers play a vital role in making sure children engage in meaningful play that can help them develop desired skills and effectively practice what they learn.
Cultural and historical influences on play
A child’s play preferences reflect the values of the culture the child has been raised. There are some actions that are not acceptable in different cultures, and children will avoid playing roles that could make them take part in actions they know are not acceptable. Children from individualistic cultures prefer being alone, and they engage in play that they will not have to depend on anyone to perform better. Such children prefer competitive activities that require a single person or activities done in small groups. On the other hand, children from collective cultures prefer activities that involve a large number of people. Such children believe a play should be inclusive, and children should learn to cooperate to get better results than to compete on who is better.
Everyday play activities such as dolls, marble, houses appear differently in different cultures because they are preserved in different cultural contexts. Different cultures have different rules for a certain play, and there are local versions for different play activities. Different cultures have different names for common play, and teachers have to help children understand the difference to avoid conflicts during play. In addition to the deep structure of many play activities, there are also very frequent cross-cultural parallels between gender gaps about partner choice and the design of play activities.
The Play differs between the cultural context in the roles that children play. Children raised in cultures that engage in farming will take roles such as driving tractors, taking care of animals, and farming. Children from cultures that practice hunting and gathering will take roles for life in the wild. Children from urban areas are more sophisticated, and they have seen different occupations and a play they will take roles such as teachers, doctors, pilots, and chefs, among others. Children are a representation of their culture, and the play they engage in can tell a lot about their culture.
The social and historical impact on the perception and practice of play
There are different social roles for different genders, and from a young age, children learn roles that they should play depending on their gender. These social roles influence the roles children take in a play and how they engage in play. Different preferences for play can explain gender differences in a social context. Boys prefer playing in large groups, occupying larger areas, playing far from home, and participating in gross-movement activities. On the other hand, girls love playing in more confined areas, playing in smaller groups, plying near their homes, and engaging social and domestic themed activities.
The social background will influence relationships of character, and how actors use their performance skills to portray their characters. In a socially stratified society, there are different social classes. In a play, these social classes are displayed. The same way people in real social classes have opinions regarding other classes is the same way children playing under different social classes will have opinions about others. Children from the upper social classes will prefer taking roles that represent the upper social class because they believe that is where they belong. The social context of the play also determines the costumes to be used in the play. Through the costumes, children learn that particular costumes are used to represent a specific group of people. The historical context of a play is a past event that has an impact on the current situation. These historical events make people have a different perspective on some roles in a play. For example, children who have experienced domestic violence will be scared of demonstrating it in a play. In contrast, those that see it on social media will comfortably demonstrate domestic violence in a play.
The spatial environment influence on the play
Play is very significant in the early childhood years for a child. Therefore, knowledge of the development of various types of play provides teachers and parents with a framework for effective teaching strategies. Changes in present societies influence impressions of childhood. Outdoor playtime is dwindling, leading to more sedentary habits that detach children from the natural environment. Outdoor unique features and stimuli allow for multiple play experiences that can hardly be replicated indoors. The outdoors can be described as an ever-changing and accessible environment, where children can experience energetic movements, independence, and interaction with natural elements. Playing indoors denies children a chance to interact with natural elements, which makes it hard for them to connect what they learn with real-life experiences. The indoor play environment also has an advanced effect on children’s health as it interferes with immune and physical development because children are not exposed to sunlight.
Early childhood teachers should comprehend the developmental theories of play and use them to prepare play as an assessment and instruction tool. They should also appreciate the significance of play in the development of cognitive, social, motor, physical, and emotional domains. It is also particularly necessary that teachers of young children have an excellent academic background in the study of play to better identify difficulties and provide sufficient help for children who are having a difficult time playing, such as children with physical disabilities.
How complexities shape the landscape in today’s Australian early childhood education
There are differences in play because factors such as culture, history, society, emotions, and daily activities impact play. The play has different cultural, historical, and social contexts that help them to bring out different meanings. In an academic setting, teachers have to be careful about the type of play they use as a teaching tool. Different cultures bring out the different roles that children can play, and teachers should have the vast cultural knowledge to help children understand the roles described by different cultures. Historical events impact how particular roles are described in the play, while society helps to bring different social roles in the play.
Different theories have a different view about play with some explaining play as a learning tool that helps children develop skills, and others explain play as a process of reflecting what a child has learned over time. These theories have interacted, and teachers have to make sure both concepts of the play are considered when preparing a play for the young learners. A play should create a platform where children can practice the skills they have learned from a class or from interacting with other people and provide an opportunity for them to learn something.
Early childhood is generally described as the birth-to-eight year period. Play in early childhood settings is fundamental to and highly regarded as a professional-pedagogical activity. Young children’s educators see this as crucial to learning and growth processes. While play learning is widely recognized as a beneficial pedagogical practice widespread in school environments, it has been noted that there are often fewer opportunities to include play-based learning activities and the availability of equipment to facilitate play in an early childhood education as the needs and expectations of a more formalized curriculum begin to appear.
Teachers are witnessing significant changes in Australian early childhood education due to state and national changes. Recent educational policy changes culminated in the implementation of a comprehensive framework of accreditation and supervision through an Educational Quality System in prior school settings. These changes in Australian early childhood education are a result of changes in social and cultural factors that are changing the concept of play. Playtime in school is being short-changed as more emphasis is being put on teaching the basics at a younger age. Children nowadays are busy with school work such that they do not have spare time outside school to play. Due to economic and protection reasons, the tradition where children used to play in the neighborhood after school has become a thing of the past. These changes are meant to promote creative and meaningful play in education.
Conclusion
Play is one of the most critical ways young kids learn vital skills and awareness. Play opportunities and environments that encourage play, discovery, and hands-on learning are also at the core of a successful early childhood education program. The interaction between different theories has influenced the concept of play, where play is viewed as a tool for developing skills and an opportunity for children to practice the skills they have gained. Different cultural, social, and historical contexts of play have a significant effect on the perception and practice of play. Teachers have a vital role to play in ensuring a play is meaningful that they why early childhood education teachers are required to have a vast knowledge of the importance of play in teaching children. The play has undergone significant changes over time, with some of the changes undermining the quality of play in schools. Such changes have led to the introduction of new Australian early childhood education and regulation to promote the creative and meaningful play.