This research by Kangas et al., (2023) addresses the need to support inclusive play for all children. While previous research emphasized the importance of inclusive play, this study focuses on practical ways to implement it effectively, highlighting five elements to enrich inclusive play. The study emphasizes that inclusive play is a powerful tool for fostering connections among diverse children and teaching staff.
A research team led by Jonna Kangas at the University of Helsinki shared their findings about what really works to support inclusive play for all children in a new piece published in the journal, Education Sciences. This article addresses the research gap about the practicalities of supporting inclusive play. Although previous research has highlighted this importance of this kind of play and the theories behind it, little has been shared about how to implement it effectively. The goal of this research was to identify practical elements of supporting inclusive play.
The authors highlight play as a key social occupation for children, yet acknowledge that culturally and linguistically diverse children have fewer meaningful opportunities to engage in this social play. "Play is defined by a child’s interaction and intrinsic motivation, and engagement with peers or adults enhances children’s knowledge and abilities [29] as children explore their environment and engage in playful interactions to build their knowledge and experiences [20]." (Kangas et al., pg. 3). The authors argue that intervening here with careful and purposeful scaffolding and support can allow play to become more accessible to all children. They then identified five elements of support that enrich inclusive play.
The first element was teachers' participation and active presence; specifically teachers' use of verbal and nonverbal communication to facilitate play. "Participating in the play for teaching staff is also essential; therefore, it is important that teaching staff share responsibilities in diverse ECEC groups so that at least one teacher can fully focus on participating in play with the children. At its best, the active role of teaching staff in play creates spaces for sharing meaning making in play that children express through joy and laughter." (Kangas et al., pg. 9). Teachers must allow themselves time to engage deeply and richly in play to co-create knowledge and meaning with the children.
The second element was about repetition with flexibility and adaptive goals. While children may need repeated play experiences or targeted concepts, the introduction of these should not interfere with the children's motivation to play. "While children with diverse backgrounds and varying ages are playing together, the plan for play cannot have too many set goals in order to give room for children’s imagination, initiative, and participation. Therefore, we see that, without set goals, there is room for shared meaning making to emerge through exploration [23]." (Kangas et al., pg. 10).
The third element encourages teachers to embrace playful language and joy. Being silly with children and finding humour in language and social interactions can lessen the pressure that some children may feel when engaging in language driven play. Key to remember here is that language is a path to social connection and belonging, "Language is not only vocabulary and grammar, but different means of communication are elements in the path of socialization [21]." (Kangas et al., pg. 10). Make mistakes and enjoy the social bonding that language allows.
The fourth element focuses on children's use of non-verbal tools to enrich conversation and join play. Teachers must be careful observers of children's actions, gestures, and facial expressions. These can highlight children's contributions to play and skilled teachers can use these cues to inform next steps and create more belonging.
The fifth element is about the time and intensity of play. The researchers note that meaningful inclusive play can take time to build as young children navigate both linguistic and cultural barriers, "While the children do not have a shared language to plan their play beforehand, the play needs time and space to gain its full potential and continue to have a long-lasting intensity [21]." (Kangas et al., pg. 11). Planning additional time for lengthy play sessions and limiting interruptions when children are highly involved in play can support inclusive play.
Play is a powerful tool for connection that every child deserves access to. These elements for supporting inclusive play enable teachers to ensure that all children can engage in the social culture of the classroom and deepen their connections to others. For the researchers, play is a unifying act, "We regard play with its innate ability to transcend, e.g., cultural, linguistic, and physical barriers in ECEC, as a unifying force that brings diverse children and teaching staff together if inclusive play pedagogy is applied." (Kangas et al., pg. 12).
Don't leave without taking something new to your practice! Here are the authors' five key strategies for supporting inclusive play with linguistically and culturally diverse children:
Play with the children
Have a simply goal and then follow the children's lead.
Model risk-taking and social connection by being silly with language.
Highlight non-verbal behaviours as meaningful contributions to play.
Give play time.
(Kangas et al., 2023)
Want to read it yourself? You can download the full PDF of this article FREE and open access HERE.
References:
Kangas, J.; Lastikka, A.-L.; Arvola, O. 2023. Inclusive Play: Defining Elements of Playful Teaching and Learning in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse ECEC. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 956. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090956Â
Comments