Early childhood teachers’ reported uses of play and enacted pedagogical roles in supporting learning, development, and social interaction across seven countries

The purpose of the study was to explore how early childhood teachers utilize play in their classrooms. To achieve this aim, two main areas of focus were selected: (a) learning and development, and (b) social interactions, specifically supporting empathy and managing interruptions during play. A total of 187 early childhood teachers from seven countries responded to four open-ended survey questions about children’s play. The teachers were unified in their responses, mostly stating they used play as a tool to teach. Teachers identified guidance as their most important strategy to help children learn and develop. The differences among the teachers were found in their strategies to supervise social interactions. Such results can help inspire policy- and practice-based suggestions that could be implemented to widen the range of potentiality of play in early childhood classrooms.