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Introduction to Play in Early Childhood
Second Edition
Edited by:
- Jane Waters-Davies - University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK
April 2026 | 312 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
This is the definitive resource for students and early childhood professionals seeking to understand meaningful play experiences for younger children. Covering ages 0-8, this comprehensive guide explores what play in early childhood is, why it matters, and where and how it happens. With fully updated content and new chapters, it provides everything you need for your early childhood degree and your practice, helping you to:
- Think critically about play and play provision.
- Understand what good early childhood practice looks like.
- See how educational theory translates into real-world settings.
- Explore the issues, debates, and challenges within play and early learning.
- Exciting contemporary approaches to the pedagogy of play.
- Observing and assessing play, with an emphasis on inclusive practice.
- Planning for play, to support effective active learning.
Part I: What Is Play?
Natalie MacDonald
1. What is play?
Jane Waters-Davies
2. Children’s Right to Play
Allison Rees-Edwards
3. Types of Play
Alison Murphy
4. Play Pioneers and their Legacy
Lauren Whale and Louise Atkins
5. Contemporary Playful Pedagogies
Part II: Why Is Play Important?
Natalie Canning and Angela Rekers
6. Play, Learning, and Development
Amanda Bateman
7. Play, Early Language and Communication
Charlotte Greenway and Laura Hutchings
8. Play, Creativity and Well-Being
Tereza Aidonopoulou-Read
9. Observation and Assessment of Play
Karen Boardman and Jennie Swift
10. Planning for Play
Part III: Where Does Play Happen?
Jennie Clement
11. Enabling Environments: Indoors and Out
Glenda Tinney
12. Outdoor Play
Pekka Mertala and Daara Salomaa
13. Play in the Digital World: Beyond the Binary Logic
Carys Jennings
14. The Place of Play in the Early Years Curricula of the UK
Angela Rekers and Mel McCree
15. The Role of the Adult in Supporting Play
Nanna Ryder and Charlotte Greenway
16. Play and Inclusion
Maragret Kernan, Giulia Cortellesi, and Mariana Palazuelos
17. Intergenerational Play
Part IV: International Perspectives
Angela Rekers and Jane Waters-Davies
18. Cultural Framing of Expectations for Play
Debra Laxton, Linda Cooper, and Sarah Ndlovu
19. Play in Extremis
Sarah Chicken and Sarah Whitehouse
20. Playful Learning around the World
