Play as Learning, Psychology of

Learning plays a very important role in human development. Learning starts from the moment we are born and does not stop until we cease to exist. Given the importance of learning, it is not surprising that a great deal of work has been devoted to understanding how the human mind learns and also to determine the activities that facilitate learning. One of these activities is play. Play has a very important role in infant development and also facilitates learning significantly. However, the value of play in children's learning frequently comes under attack.

Most of the attacks seem to stem from a conceptualization of human development and learning from the “cognitive child” point of view, whereas the other side, the one that defends and encourages play, conceptualizes human development and learning from “the whole child” perspective. Even though there is plenty of evidence supporting the value of play, the way government officials, teachers, and parents perceive play has important implications for whether children have the right environment to engage in such activity.

Learning plays a central role in human growth. From very early ages, we learn to recognize the face and voice of our parents, which is crucial for survival. We learn what different objects mean, what they are used for, and what category they belong to. We learn how to crawl, walk, talk, and understand others. It is impossible to imagine healthy human development without noticing the importance of learning. Thus, it is not surprising that government officials, schools, teachers, parents, and the public in general recognize the importance of learning. However, there is not the same degree of agreement regarding the activities that lead to learning.

Play, whether spontaneous or organized, has a very important role in children's development. It also substantially enhances learning in the form of improved speech, reading, writing, and mathematical skills and facilitates imagination as well. Given the important role of play in children's learning, it is, at first, hard to understand why some segments of society do not believe in the value of play. Since we know that children's opportunities to play can be greatly enhanced or hindered depending on adults' conceptualization of the value of play, it is important to understand how, historically, government officials, teachers, parents, and the public in general have conceptualized learning and play. Since most of what we know about the role of play in learning relates to children, we are going to focus on this particular age group. However this does not mean that understanding the relationship between learning and play is unimportant in other age groups.