Importance of Play*

PHD Work on PLAY:

Research suggests that high-quality pretend play actuallyfosters cognitive, emotional, and social development (Bergen,2002). Children who have well-developed pretending skills tendto be well liked by their peers and viewed as leaders. This may belinked to their advanced communication skills, their greater abilityto take the point of view of others, and their ability to reason aboutsocial situations. Children who have been encouraged in a playful,imaginative approach to the manipulation and exploration of materialsand objects through fantasy show more complex languageuse and more flexible approaches to problem solving. Childrenwho have frequent opportunities for pretend play—especially witha more experienced play partner—are better able to express theirfeelings, show higher levels of empathy, and are more aware of theiremotional states (Galyer & Evans, 2001; Lindsey & Colwell, 2003). It supports socialinteractions with peers and adults, and offers a comfortable contextin which children can express new ideas, integrate informationfrom life events, and arrive at new insights about importantquestions they face in daily life (Hopkins, Dore, & Lillard, 2015;Lillard et al., 2013; Snow, 2016). Fantasy play is essential for the full social, intellectual, andemotional development of young children. Some parents andteachers want to define a young child’s cognitive growth in terms ofthe acquisition of words and concepts that seem relevant to the real. world. They emphasize the importance of learning numbers andletters, memorizing facts, and learning to read. However, researchon cognitive development suggests that gains in the capacity forsymbolic play provide essential foundations for subsequent intellectualabilities, such as abstract reasoning, creativity, and inventiveproblem solving. What is more, by integrating pretense as a teaching/learning strategy, opportunities for play enhance children’smotivation to learn, improve their ability to sustain their attention,and provide practice in using new concepts in innovative contexts(Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006).

Estimates suggest that young children have 8 fewer hours a week of unstructured play time today than did children 20 years ago (Elkind, 2007; Miller & Almon, 2009). With the upward pressure on kindergarten and first grade to introduce new levels of competence in basic academic skills, there are fewer resources and less time available for child-initiated play. Outside of school, many families create a series of structured activities for their young children including music lessons, early sports experiences, and language enrichment, leaving little time for afterschool or weekend unstructured play.Early-school-age children continue to use vivid fantasies in play. However, during this period a new form of play emerges. Children show interest in group games that are more structured and somewhat more oriented to reality than social pretend play based primarily on imagination. Duck-Duck-Goose, London Bridges, and Farmer-in-the-Dell are examples of early group play. Simon Says, Hide-and-Seek, Hopscotch, and Statue-Maker are more complex games of early school age. They involve more cognitive complexity, physical skill, and ritual. These games combine fantasy with an emphasis on peer cooperation and competition. Group play is a transitional form between the fantasy play of the toddler and the team sports and other games with rules of middle childhood (Erikson, 1977).

A study using two groups. One used "children" the other used "boys and girls." What they found was that the children had fewer gender stereotypes in terms of play (who they chose to play with) in the case where "children" was used. See the reference below: Children in the experimental groups showed an increase in their agreement about gender stereotypesand a decrease in the amount of play with opposite sexchildren during free play (Hilliard & Liben, 2010).experimental groups here is "boys and girls"

“Textbooks provide null effect in Kenya” The books are suited for the top students and not built for the middle class - there should instead be different versions of books and schools to accomadate ALL kids - Nobel Prize for this measurement and evaluation:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/business/economics-nobel.html

The Power of Games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lacrosse - games to solve war problems