Theories of ‘Play’: Are they Ethnocentric or Inclusive?

Abstract

A review of children's activities by Hutt (1979) has demonstrated that there are some 14 distinct categories that have been labelled as ‘play’. Yet the term ‘play’ has been used in a generic sense to describe all the activities of children. Hutt et al., (1989, p. 5) have argued that virtually all the behaviour of children except for eating, sleeping and elimination has in one context or another been called ‘play’. Given that ‘play’ is deemed an important pedagogical tool in early childhood education, more needs to be understood about the differences between the ‘play-based’ activities of children and their implications for children's learning. This is particularly important for early childhood professionals working with children from a range of cultural groups, since the majority of the ‘play’ education literature has drawn upon research which was conducted with children from Western countries. Similarly, the period in which the data were collected for the most significant pieces of research (i.e., research most cited) reflects children in the 1930s through to the 1960s. As a result of information technology, travel opportunities and a broadening of experiences which children encounter from an early age, the children of the 1990s have different experiences which will invariably influence their ‘play’ activities. This paper discusses these issues and seeks to reconceptualise how we view and hence consider the activities of children.