Pre-service Teachers' Views of Children's and Adults' Play in Japan, Taiwan, and the USA

Abstract

Teachers' perspectives of play differ widely because of social and cultural influences that can be seen in their values and beliefs about play in different countries. In a global community, sharing educators' knowledge of play and their perspectives of how to educate children through the use of play would be appropriate and complementary in understanding early childhood education in different countries. To understand the meaning of play, American, Japanese and Taiwanese early childhood preservice teachers' perceptions of play were examined. The participants consisted of 25 American preservice teachers, 25 Japanese pre-service teachers, and 25 Taiwanese pre-service teachers. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded four themes for play: learning and development; social skills; creativity; and children's work. There were three themes regarding the meaning of adults' play: being both similar to and different from child's play; preventing stress; and enjoying interacting with others. One theme of enjoyment emerged for the understanding of playfulness. More American and Taiwanese participants agreed that play relates to learning and development than their Japanese counterparts. Japanese and Taiwanese participants viewed play as being more than learning and development, while none of their American counterparts did. Both Japanese and Taiwanese participants claimed that although play can support children's development and learning, children should enjoy play for the sake of playing. One theme that differentiated the groups was the notion that play is children's work. While several American and Taiwanese participants mentioned this slogan, this was not the case for the Japanese.

American and Japanese kindergartners’ views of play through the use of photo elicitation interviews (PEIs)

“…Some cross-cultural studies of American and Japanese educators' perceptions of play (Izumi-Taylor et al, 2014;Izumi-Taylor et al, 2010b;Izumi-Taylor et al, 2004) found Japanese teachers consider play as the way to promote children's social development more than their American counterparts.…”

“…Despite differences in political, educational, and religious systems, American and Japanese educators consider play important in children’s learning and development (Izumi-Taylor et al, 2014; Izumi-Taylor et al, 2010b); yet, it is inappropriate to assume “that adult recollections about play will be helpful in understanding play in the elementary school from the children’s perspectives” (King, 1986: 233). Viewing children’s play perspectives through PEIs might help educators understand the best way to comprehend children’s definitions of play.…”

“…Some cross-cultural studies of American and Japanese educators’ perceptions of play (Izumi-Taylor et al, 2014; Izumi-Taylor et al, 2010b; Izumi-Taylor et al, 2004) found Japanese teachers consider play as the way to promote children’s social development more than their American counterparts. Japanese play researchers found that teachers intentionally nurture children’s social development through play (Liu, 2011, Sunagami, 2008; Takazakura, 2007).…”

“…Just as Japanese teachers viewed play as fostering children’s social development, American teachers agreed play relates to social development (Copple and Bredekamp, 2009; Izumi-Taylor et al, 2014). However, American teachers perceived play as being associated more with cognitive development.…”

“…However, American teachers perceived play as being associated more with cognitive development. Most American educators viewed play as the best way for children to learn (Copple and Bredekamp, 2009; Izumi-Taylor et al, 2010b; Nell et al, 2013; Van Hoorn et al, 2011), but some teachers offered more structured play activities (Izumi-Taylor et al, 2014; Nagasaki et al, 2002).…”