Early Childhood Teachers' Perceptions of Risky Play: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT Risky play, which involves thrilling, exciting activities with the risk of physical injury, has been associated with some crucial developmental consequences in the physical, social and emotional domains of children. Despite the fact that a number of studies have managed to provide insight into how early childhood teachers perceive risky play, there remains a lack of a comprehensive review to present these perspectives. As such, this scoping review was conducted to provide a synthesis of existing evidence on risky play perceptions of teachers in early childhood education (ECE) settings. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework and the PRISMA checklist, four major databases were searched, and 18 empirical studies met the inclusion criteria. The results reveal that the teachers recognise the value of the broad developmental risky play; however, they demonstrate concerns about safety, responsibility and accountability in ECE settings, which are influenced by interacting factors. Therefore, this article offers a comprehensive construct that can assist a wide range of stakeholders, including educators, policymakers and regulatory agencies, in navigating the complex contexts that shape early childhood teachers' perceptions of risky play. The research in the future ought to examine how the early childhood teachers' perceptions of risky play influence their pedagogical choice and classroom activities, cross‐cultural differences in these perceptions and teaching approaches and evaluate the long‐term effects of the professional development on both pedagogical strategies and children's engagement in risky play.