{"id":34465,"date":"2026-08-24T12:42:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=34465"},"modified":"2026-08-23T12:59:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T16:59:39","slug":"preschool-teachers-overwhelmingly-support-play-based-learning-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2026\/08\/preschool-teachers-overwhelmingly-support-play-based-learning-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Preschool teachers overwhelmingly support play-based learning, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Thinkers from Plato to Maria Montessori have championed play as one of the most powerful ways that young children learn and grow. American preschool teachers overwhelmingly agree \u2014 but a new study finds that teachers in urban settings feel less family support for play-based learning<\/strong> than their suburban counterparts.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the\u00a0<\/em>Early Childhood Education Journal<\/em><\/a>, drew on survey data from 110 preschool teachers in two Midwestern states to examine how classroom play is supported across urban, suburban and rural settings. Researchers looked at three key factors: teachers\u2019 own knowledge and beliefs about learning and play, their perception of family support for play and their perception of curricular support for it.<\/p>\n

While teachers\u2019 beliefs about play and curricular support didn\u2019t differ by region \u2014 96.9% agreed or strongly agreed that play supports academic learning \u2014 urban teachers were significantly less likely than suburban teachers to say families in their classrooms viewed play as essential to learning.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Erin Fox<\/a>, lead author of the study and a recent graduate with a doctorate in\u00a0human development and family science<\/a>\u00a0from The Ohio State University, both research and anecdotal stories from teachers and parents point to growing pressure in preschool settings to prioritize direct academic instruction, which can limit children\u2019s time for play.<\/p>\n

Fox was curious about how this tension<\/strong> was taking shape across communities and set out to explore equity in access to high-quality, play-based preschool.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest misconceptions is that play doesn\u2019t support learning,\u201d Fox said. \u201cIn general, I think most people would agree that play supports social emotional development, but may be less likely to understand how play can also support early literacy or math skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far from being just a \u201cbreak\u201d or a way for kids to burn off energy, playful learning is an evidence-based teaching strategy<\/strong>: The researchers define it as an active learning approach that combines child-directed, engaging elements with intentional adult guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the outside, it might just look like kids are playing, but when you actually talk to the teachers, it\u2019s very intentional and there are clear learning goals behind it,\u201d said\u00a0Kelly Purtell<\/a>, a co-author of the study and associate professor of\u00a0human sciences<\/a>\u00a0at Ohio State. The paper is part of a larger study focused on understanding how teachers use and think about play experiences in preschool and early elementary school classrooms.<\/p>\n

Purtell notes a broader cultural shift in the way conversations about school readiness have come to dominate how families view preschool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen talking to teachers, both formally and informally, they\u2019ve expressed that when some families send their kids to preschool, they really expect them to be there to learn and to be ready for kindergarten,\u201d Purtell said. An increased focus on formal academic preparation, she added, shapes broader expectations of what preschool should look like.<\/p>\n

As to why teachers in urban areas reported feeling less support from families around playful learning, the researchers speculate that parents in urban areas might be more exposed to narratives around the importance of school readiness, Purtell said, and there is a growing need to better educate parents and families<\/strong> about the important role of play-based learning in ensuring school readiness.<\/p>\n

Parental concerns about kindergarten preparation are well-placed and understandable, Purtell said, and she hopes to help broaden how people think about school readiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay-based learning is a developmentally appropriate learning strategy,\u201d she said, \u201cand it\u2019s something parents should feel comfortable talking to their children\u2019s teachers about \u2014 to better understand how and why teachers are using play in the classroom \u2014 and how that\u2019s helping kids develop and get ready for the transition to school.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Thinkers from Plato to Maria Montessori have championed play as one of the most powerful ways that young children learn and grow. American preschool teachers overwhelmingly agree \u2014 but a new study finds that teachers in urban settings feel less family support for play-based learning than their suburban counterparts. The study, published… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[319,777,7],"tags":[45,160,25,32],"class_list":["post-34465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-2","category-play","category-relationships","tag-children","tag-developmental","tag-language","tag-personality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34467,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34465\/revisions\/34467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}