Play and Learning in the Early Years

Elizabeth Wood is Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield. She teaches on a range of post-graduate programmes and runs in-service courses for teachers and early years practitioners. She has worked on a number of collaborative research projects with teachers in early years and primary schools. Elizabeth co-directed two ESRC funded research projects with Neville Bennett: Reception Teachers' Theories of Play (1995-97) and Progression and Continuity in the Early Years (1999-2000). She has authored books and articles based on her research interests in play, young children's learning, early childhood pedagogy, equity and equality, policy critique and collaborative action research.

Introduction - Elizabeth Wood, Pat Broadhead and Justine Howard Developing Integrated Pedagogical Approaches to Play and Learning - Elizabeth Wood Learning to Play in a Cultural Context - Liz Brooker Co-Operative Play and Learning from Nursery to Year One - Pat Broadhead 'Born to Play': The Biocultural Roots of Rough and Tumble Play, and Its Impact upon Young Children's Learning and Development - Pam Jarvis Playing on the Edge: Perceptions of Risk and Danger in Outdoor Play - Helen Tovey Identity in Young Children's Drawings: Power, Agency, Control and Transformation - Emese Hall Supporting a Playful Approach to Drawing - Kathy Ring Play Is a Complex Landscape: Imagination and Symbolic Meanings - Maulfry Worthington Making the Most of Play in the Early Years: The Importance of Children's Perceptions - Justine Howard Play Metacognition and Self-Regulation - David Whitebread Conclusion: Understanding Playful Learning and Playful Pedagogies: Towards a New Research Agenda - Pat Broadhead, Elizabeth Wood and Justine Howard

'This is an authoritative and detailed analysis of the complexities of children's play in different situations. It is made more accessible by the 'reflection points' scattered through the text that encourage the reader to link theory with examples drawn from their own practice. It is an excellent up to date source of reference, and will be of significant interest to anyone wanting to understand more about the true nature of young children's play and how to enhance it' - Early Years Update 'This is a fascinating textbook about the role of play within the early years sector and highlights how the target-driven approach can create stress for practitioner and child...[This book is] very readable with interesting case studies. It would certainly prompt good discussion at a staff meeting' - Children and Young People Now 'Designed to help practitioners at all stages of their professional development to understand different aspects of learning through play, the best thing about the book is the enthusiasm each author brings to sharing their research interests with readers. The authors demonstrate how their work can help practitioners to enrich children's early experiences in childcare and education settings, giving them access to deep thinking about the power of play and the confidence to apply new understandings to their own settings' - Angela Anning, Emeritus Professor, University of Leeds and Visiting Professor, Leeds Metropolitan University