Children’s Play and Teacher’s Playful Teaching a Discussion about Play in the Preschool Class

In this article, the play used in preschool class education is discussed. On the one hand, research has shown that there seems to be a positional shift towards a more academic and school-preparatory positioning of the preschool class education. On the other hand, this is still a voluntary school form that shall be based on preschool traditions and play. In addition, research has shown that there actually is a weak emphasis on care provision and play in this educational practice. There is also a lack of knowledge about how play is used and conditioned. The purpose for this study is therefore to analyze the play used in preschool class education.

Data for the study is extracted from an 11 months ethnographic case study and the original empirical material consists of 1013 minutes of recorded film in addition to 224 A4-pages of field notes constructed during one year in one preschool class. Examples of common, ordinary and recurring play situations during the school year were selected from this material. Inspired by qualitative content analysis the selected play situations were joined together in three different categories: 1) The optional play, 1) The cultural play, and 3) The educational play.

In line with previous research, the results show that play in preschool classes never is “free”. Rather, it is conditioned and framed by the teachers (present or not present); children are committed to play in a certain way and a certain time. In addition, there is a future perspective in the use of play. Playing activities seems often to be closely linked to educational goals.