Several Perspectives on Children’s Play: Scientific Reflections for Practitioners
Jambor, Tom and Van Gils, Jan (eds.) (2007).
Antwerp, Belgium: Garant Publishers; 255 pages. ISBN 9789044121834.
Several Perspectives on Children’s Play represents a collaboration between two international organizations that promote children’s play: IPA (International Play Association) and ICCP (International Council for Children’s Play). It begins with two overviews of play research and theory that provide a valuable background for readers interested in any aspect of play, including play environments. In “Play in Retro- and Perspective,” Rimmert van der Kooij reviews major play bibliographies compiled between 1967 and 2000, summarizes theories of play from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and discusses different categories of play. Johan Meire’s chapter on “Qualitative Research on Children’s Play: A Review of Recent Literature” covers research published from 2001-2006, with a focus on the place of play in children’s experience and processes of giving sense to the world. After covering different approaches to conceptualizing play, qualitative methods for play research, forms of play, and age and gender differences in play, the chapter closes with nine pages focused on play settings.
The 12 chapters that follow are evenly divided between a focus on learning through play in the contexts of preschool and kindergarten programs and a focus on the physical contexts of play. The latter chapters cover hut building in Norwegian schools by Arne Trageton, environments that promote challenging sensorimotor play or “real play” in Norway by Asbjorn Flemmen, modifications in adventure playground equipment in England by Bob Hughes, barriers to play and opportunities for play provision in Hong Kong by Kathy Wong Kin-ho, an evaluation of videogame play by James Johnson of the United States, and the perspectives of children and experts on quality criteria for toys by Waltraut Hartmann of Austria. Together, the chapters update readers on recent play research from North America, Europe and Asia.
Reviewer Information
Louise Chawla is a professor in the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado.