Children's Play and Development: Cultural-Historical Perspectives [Paperback]

This book provides new theoretical insights to our understanding of play as a cultural activity. All chapters address play and playful activities from a cultural-historical theoretical approach by re-addressing central claims and concepts in the theory and providing new models and understandings of the phenomenon of play within the framework of cultural historical theory. Empirical studies cover a wide range of institutional settings: preschool, school, home, leisure time, and in various social relations (with peers, professionals and parents) in different parts of the world (Europe, Australia, South?America?and North?America). Common to all chapters is a goal of throwing new light on the phenomenon of playing within a theoretical framework of cultural-historical theory. Play as a cultural, collective, social, personal, pedagogical and contextual activity is addressed with reference to central concepts in relation to development and learning. Concepts and phenomena related to ZPD, the imaginary situation, rules, language play, collective imagining, spheres of realities of play, virtual realities, social identity and pedagogical environments are presented and discussed in order to bring the cultural-historical theoretical approach into play with contemporary historical issues. Essential as a must read to any scholar and student engaged with understanding play in relation to human development, cultural historical theory and early childhood education.???

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This book gathers new theoretical and practical insights on play as a cultural activity. Covers settings such as preschool, school, home and leisure time, explores various social relationships and spans geographical and cultural environments.

Preface.- 1. Introduction: Childrens Play and Development; Ivy Schousboe and Ditte Winther-Lindqvist.- 2. The Structure of Fantasy Play and its Implications for Good and Evil Games; Ivy Schousboe&llÅ