A Dialectical Conception of Play Theory: Cultural-Historical Views

• In Event: Roundtable Session 96
  In Roundtable Session: Revisiting Social Historical Constructions in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Early childhood education has become a field whose work and influence extend well beyond the Euro-American academy and English-speaking world. Play theory limited to classical and modern conceptualizations is insufficient for the 21st century. As part of an effort to build on and expand developmental theories of play, the cultural and historical theories of Bakhtin and Vygotsky will be used to frame research that implies an understanding of the social situation of the child in play, language, and intercultural understanding. Thinking about play needs to include the perspective of the child, children’s everyday settings, and the conditions and institutions society gives children.

Authors

• Lynn E. Cohen, Long Island University - C.W. Post Campus

• James E. Johnson, The Pennsylvania State University