Whose Play Counts? Problematizing the Global Diffusion of Play-Based Learning in the Education in Emergencies Sector

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Contesting Dominant Paradigms: Race, Play, Pandemic, and Teachers in Education in Emergencies

Proposal

In recent years, the concept of play-based learning has become central to early childhood education programming in global contexts, particularly within Education in Emergencies (EiE) initiatives. Led by powerful philanthropic actors like the LEGO Foundation, this agenda promotes a universalized definition of play—rooted in Western, Global North paradigms of development, cognition, and schooling. This paper critically examines the ideological underpinnings and global expansion of play-based learning as a policy and pedagogical tool, with a focus on Tanzania as a case study. Drawing on anthropological scholarship that emphasizes the social, cultural, and political dimensions of play (Lancy, 2015; Gaskins, 2013), we interrogate how international organizations have sought to define and govern “quality” play, often at the expense of locally embedded and historically grounded practices.

Our analysis is grounded in data from the first phase of a collaborative research-practice partnership between Tanzanian and U.S. institutions. Using a design-based approach and situated within a Community of Practice model, the study engaged Tanzanian pre-primary teachers in a multi-week professional development program. Methods include pre- and post-surveys, teacher interviews, and ethnographic observations of teacher professional development sessions. Preliminary findings reveal both enthusiasm and ambivalence among Tanzanian teachers; while many expressed new insights into how children learn through play, others questioned the applicability of imported pedagogies that often conflict with local cultural norms, classroom realities, and expectations from families and inspectors.

This paper situates the Tanzanian case within a broader critique of the transnational education architecture, arguing that the narrow, decontextualized definitions of “learning through play” promoted by Global North institutions risk reproducing colonial dynamics under the guise of child-centered progressivism. In EiE spaces where education is already instrumentalized for resilience, peacebuilding, and psychosocial recovery, the uncritical adoption of standardized play-based approaches can further marginalize non-Western epistemologies and pedagogies. Moreover, the push to embed these models in national teacher training and curriculum reform reflects a troubling trend toward technocratic, one-size-fits-all solutions that obscure power asymmetries in knowledge production and educational decision-making.

Rather than dismissing play-based learning outright, we call for a radical reimagining of what play can and should look like in diverse cultural, crisis-affected, and development contexts. We advocate for a pluralistic approach that foregrounds local conceptions of play, supports co-construction with teachers and communities, and resists the epistemic colonization of early learning. Ultimately, this paper contributes to emerging conversations about the politics of childhood, pedagogy, and reform in international education—and urges the EiE community to reflect critically on whose knowledge and values shape the futures we envision for the world’s youngest learners.

Authors

• Kelsey A. Dalrymple, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Subilaga M Kejo, Dar Es Salaam Univ College of Education

• Bethany Wilinski, Michigan State University