International Perspectives on Children's Play

About the editors
List of contributors
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Play as culturally situated: Diverse perspectives on its meaning and significance

Part One: Americas and the Caribbean
Yucatec Maya children's play
Brazilian children at play: Reviewing relationships between play and culture
Play in Caribbean cultural communities
The ecology of play among young children of Mexican origin seasonal farmworkers
The play behaviour of African American children: The need for a cultural prism
Play and Asian American children
Traditional Native American children's play: The nature-culture connection

Part Two: Africa
Take me to the (dry) river: Children's play in Turkana pastoralist communities of Kenya

Part Three: Asia and the Pacific region
Understanding Chinese children's play via constructing and reconstructing: A prospective vision
Japanese preschoolers rule the classroom through play
'Children's work is to play': Beliefs and practices related to childhood play among Indians
'Woolloomooloo and cross the Domain': Australian children's play

Part Four: Europe and Turkey
Play in a Swedish preschool context
The capture of play within policy discourses: A critical analysis of the UK frameworks for early childhood education
Children's play in the Estonian context
Play in Turkish cultural context

Synthesis
Synthesis and prospectives on 21st century play around the world

Index

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.