play and learning in early childhood settings international perspectives
this book provides the first ever cultural historical study of the play of children from birth to 2 years of age in their early childhood education and care settings across 7 countries . researchers from new zealand australia chile hong kong china japan sweden and usa present their investigations of the play activities of infants and toddlers in their early childhood settings . they examine the cultural construction of play in these different contexts through a cultural historical analysis . the book presents a review of the literature drawing upon vygotskys 1966 work to frame the review followed by a critique of research and theory on play within the field of early childhood education . it provides case examples of play within specific countries mostly using barbara rogoffs 1998 3 planes of analysis as a common approach for framing and analysing the data generated . it further examines how play has been enacted across countries and offers suggestions for future directions .