Generating new knowledge in early childhood education: aligning contemporary health, wellbeing and sustainability issues with research into children's play

Play is traditionally understood in early childhood education as a providing a vehicle for children’s learning and operates as a framework for curriculum decision-making.
Contemporary research into children’s play in social context increasingly emphasises three main areas of interest:

1| the relationship between children’s outdoor play experiences and their understandings of sustainability.

2| the impact of digital media and technologies on children’s engagement with popular culture and play-based interests.

3| reduced opportunities for outdoor and physical based play associated with more sedentary technology-based play activities.

A challenge for early childhood educators is to consider how traditional understandings of play can be aligned with contemporary research into these issues as a basis for curriculum provision in early childhood education.

This educational statement aligns these three areas of research with Learning Outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009) to suggest several recommendations for further research and practice into the relationship between children’s health and wellbeing and the provision of play-based pedagogy in early childhood education.