Outlining play and playful learning in Finland and Brazil: A content analysis of early childhood education policy documents

Abstract

Early childhood education and care is a current interest in many countries. Many international studies have highlighted the importance of high-quality early education environments where learning and play are integrated. Studies show that these types of learning environments have a positive impact on children’s future prospects and overall development. Critical curriculum steering documents from Finland and Brazil form the basis of this study and can similarly be shown to define the quality of these environments, as well as providing definitions of playful learning in these differing cultural contexts. A content analysis explores patterns of the cultural and pedagogical difference of definition. This descriptive comparison permitted similarities and differences between the countries with regard to play to emerge. In this article, the authors explore what these different cultural and pedagogical definitions of play and playful learning are and what they might mean. The article thus makes a methodological contribution to a broader discussion of comparative studies of national curricula in early childhood education with specific regard to children’s engagement, learning and development in and through play. The theoretical conclusions are, however, more tentative, but the authors suggest some innovative ways to conceptualise cultural and pedagogical differences in play by making an analogy with Wittgenstein’s analysis of games in his Philosophical Investigations.

Understanding Different Approaches to ECE Pedagogy through Tensions

“…Pedagogical understanding, popular in Nordic countries and Central Europe, has received much attention in the educational discourses the recent decades. Children are seen as active participants and citizens in their educational society; thus, the teacher's role is to support their learning and initiatives [10]. This kind of pedagogical approach can be recognized from the models of play-based pedagogy, where learning takes place solely through play [23].…”

“…These three basic elements of pedagogy are connected to each other through the didactic triangle [27]. However, in ECE, children are younger and their development and learning are more intertwined with well-being and social aspects [10,23].…”

“…These three basic elements of pedagogy are connected to each other through the didactic triangle [27]. However, in ECE, children are younger and their development and learning are more intertwined with well-being and social aspects [10,23]. In ECE, the didactic triangle visualizes the basic relationships between teachers and children, which eventually leads to the development of pedagogical actions of the teaching staff [29,30].…”

“…The relationship between teacher and content, and children's interests and learning relation, could be emphasized in pedagogy through planning and implementation. ECE is not based on teachers' expertise of subjects and their content but holistic learning [10]. Care also has a strong role in ECE, especially with the youngest children [31].…”

“…In Bennett's [9] conclusion of curriculum strategies, this kind of pedagogical conceptualization follows the so-called social pedagogic tradition that is typical in Northern and Central Europe and Australia as well. This social pedagogic curriculum approach defines the developmental aims more broadly, enabling local setting tailoring and focusing more on children's agency and social development [10]. Further, this approach to pedagogy has been adopted widely in research on ECE since Vygotsky's [11] theories of learning and has found support in other disciplines, such as sociology, developmental psychology, and cultural studies [12].…”