Teachers’ Role in Play with Infants and Young Children

Abstract

This study investigated the role of teachers in play with babies and young children at a Belo Horizonte Municipal Early Childhood Education School (EMEI-Tupi), based on study cycles with the school staff, anchored on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of Historical-Cultural Psychology and Ethnography in Education. It is part of an umbrella research project, Childhood and Schooling. The results highlight how the role of teachers in play is marked by complexities and tensions, intentionality and flexible planning, provision of materials, broadening experiences, and active participation in the play, seen here as a language of this activity that guides development.