The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Play is “work” for young children and is understood to build necessary language and social skills and understanding. This thesis project, an analytic review, explores the subject of play within the early childhood classroom environment while considering both cognitive constructivism and social constructivism through the lens of Piaget and Vygotsky. The multiple purposes of the review were to gain a more complete understanding of the functions of play in the early childhood setting, emphasize the importance of play for children's intellectual, emotional and social growth, and to analyze a body of knowledge of developmental and cognitive theories pertaining to play in order to establish a basis for making decisions regarding the place of play in early childhood environments.