The Sage Handbook of Play and Learning in Early Childhood

′This Handbook offers diverse perspectives from scholars across the globe who help us see play in new ways. At the same time the basic nature of play gives a context for us to learn new theoretical frameworks and methods. A real gem!′
- Beth Graue, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, USA

Play and learning scholarship has developed considerably over the last decade, as has the recognition of its importance to children’s learning and development.

Containing chapters from highly respected researchers, whose work has been critical to building knowledge and expertise in the field, this Handbook focuses on examining historical, current and future research issues in play and learning scholarship.

Organized into three sections which consider:

• theoretical and philosophical perspectives on play and learning
• play in pedagogy, curriculum and assessment
• play contexts.

The Handbook′s breadth, clarity and rigor will make it essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students, as well as professionals with interest in this dynamic and changing field.

Liz Brooker is Reader in Early Childhood in the Faculty of Children and Learning at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Mindy Blaise is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Early Childhood  Education at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Susan Edwards is Associate Professor in Curriculum and Pedagogy at Australian Catholic University.

This handbook′s International Advisory Board included:

Jo Aliwood, The University of Newcastle, Australia
Pat Broadhead, Leeds Metropolitan University, Australia
Stig Brostrom, Aarhus University, Denmark
Hasina Ebrahim, University of the Free State, South Africa
Beth Graue, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, USA
Amita Gupta, The City College of New York, CUNY, USA
Marjatta Kalliala, University of Helsinki, Finland
Rebecca Kantor, University of Colorado Denver, USA
Colette Murphy, Trinity College, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Ellen Sandseter, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Norway

Liz Brooker is a Reader in Early Childhood at the Institute of Education, University of London. Liz was an early years’ teacher for many years, and her interest in the home experiences, and transitions to school, of ethnic minority children stemmed from her own work with children and families. Liz has continued to study early transitions, including those of infants and toddlers into their first group-care settings, with a focus on young children’s agency as they engage with new environments. More recently her work has focused on play, using a sociocultural perspective to describe how the social contexts of children’s play shape their own development and that of the communities they construct with others.  

Mindy Blaise,???is an associate professor and co-director of the Centre for Childhood Research and Innovation at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, China, SAR. Mindy’s scholarship relates to working with ‘postdevelopmentalism′ to reconfigure early childhood research, teaching and curriculum.  A large part of this work involves ‘grappling-with’ feminist practices that are useful for interrupting the notion of the developmental child. Mindy is currently involved in three interdisciplinary international research projects that are examining the situatedness of childhood in the Asia-Pacific region. She is a principal researcher, with Affrica Taylor and Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, in the Common Worlds Childhoods and Pedagogies Research Collective. 

Susan Edwards is Associate Professor of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education at Australian Catholic University. She works as a Principal Research Fellow in the area of early childhood education, and specialises in researching aspects of the early childhood curriculum, including play-based learning, teacher thinking, digital technologies and sustainability. Susan is the co-author of Early Childhood Curriculum: Planning assessment and implementation, published by Cambridge University Press, and co-editor of Engaging Play, published by Open University Press. She is currently serving as co-editor on the Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education.