Lenses on play: Cultural-historical conceptions of play

Abstract

Introduction The previous chapter examined a post-structuralist view of play . In this chapter, we look closely at a cultural-historical conception of play . We commenced our journey with this theoretical perspective on play when we looked at the role of families in children's play (Chapter 3). We now build upon the content of that chapter. Through reading this chapter, you will gain insights into: • Vygotsky's cultural-historical conception of play • the range of contemporary models of play that have been informed by cultural-historical theory. Cultural-historical understanding of play Compared with the contested view of play discussed in the previous chapter, a cultural-historical conception of play invites teachers to consider how children's play activity is culturally constructed and culturally enacted, where children create imaginary situations based on real-world experiences, and where children give new meanings to objects and actions. A motive for play develops within particular cultural communities, rather than being seen as internally motivated (Fleer 2010a; Lindqvist 1995; van Oers 2010). There are four central concepts that underpin a cultural-historical view of play: • Children create an imaginary situation in play. • Children change the meaning of objects and actions in play. • Children move in and out of imaginary situations in play – from the real world to the pretend world and back. • Collective imagining as well as individual imagining occurs in play. We will explore each of these four central ideas through examples taken from recent practices in early childhood centres and schools. Cultural-historical concept 1: Children create an imaginary situation in play Video resource: Creating an imaginary situation Creating an imaginary situation occurs when a group of children stands on a dead tree or log and announces that they are on a ship, fighting on a stormy sea – as we saw when Ella recounted her play memory in Chapter 1. We also see this imaginary situation when children play at being doctors and nurses, or pretend to be a mother or a brother. Elkonin (2005) argues that this type of role-play helps children to learn about how the world works and the roles that people take within society.