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Theory in and out of Context furthers discourse and understanding about the complex phenomenon we know as play. Play, as a human and animal activity, can be understood in terms of cultural, social, evolutionary, psychological, and philosophical perspectives.This effort necessarily includes inquiry from a range of disciplines, including history, sociology, psychology, education, biology, anthropology, and leisure studies. Work from a number of those disciplines is represented in this book.
This volume includes sections covering Foundations and Theory of Play, Gender and Children's Play, Theory of Mind, Adult-Child Play, and Classroom Play. Scholarly analyses and reports of research from diverse disciplines amplify our understanding of play in Western and non-Western societies.
List of contents
Introduction Stuart Reifel
Foundations and Theory of PlayWhat is Play For? Sexual Selection & the Evolution of Play Garry Chick
Reframing the Validity of Players & Play Brian Sutton-Smith
Play & Post Modernism Thomas Henricks
The Concept of Play in Hans-Georg Gadamer's Hermeneutics Kjetil Steinsholt and Eli Traasdahl
Symbolic Play & the Evolution of Culture: A Comparative Life History Perspective Warren P. Roberts
Gender and Children's PlayBoys Who Play Hopsctoch: The Historical Divide of Gendered Space Derek Van Rheen
The Interaction of Gender & Play Style in the Development of Gender Segregation Julie Tietz and Stephanie Shine
Boys and Girls at Play: Recess at an Urban Southern Elementary School Olga S. Jarrett, Beth Farokhi, Gwen Davies and Catharine Young
Theory of MindExplaining the Connection: Pretend Play and Theory of Mind Angeline Lillard
Imaginary Companions: Charactheristics and Correlates Marjorie Taylor, Stephanie M. Carlson and Lynn Gerow
A Study of Pretend Play and False Belief in Preschool Children: Is All Pretense Metarepresentational? Mark Nielsen and Cheryl Dissanayake
A Developmental Link Between the Production of Gestural Representation and Understanding of Mental Representation Thomas Suddendorf
Pretending, Understanding, Pretense, and Understanding Minds Angeline Lillard
Understanding the Pretense-Theory of Mind Relationship Kavanaugh
Adult-Child PlayMaternal Scaffolding of Taiwanese Play: Qualitative Patterns Jui-Chih Chin and Stuart Reifel
Paternal Notions About Their Children's Playfulness & Children's Notions of Play in the United States and Hong Kong Robyn Holmes
Validity of Three Tests of Playfulness with African-American Children and Their Parents and Relationships Amoung Parental Beliefs and Values and Children's Observed Playfulness Carolyn Porter and Anita Bundy
Attitudes of Parents and Teachers About Play Aggression in Young Children James E. Johnson, Susan J. Welteroth, and Susan M. Corl
Classroom PlayPlay as a Learning Medium Revisited James Christie
The Effects of Situational Context on Playful Behaviors of Young Preschool Children Arleen T. Dodd, Jeanne T. Wilson and Cosby S. Rogers
Bilingual Children's Language Usage During Dramatic Play My-ae Han, Alfredo Benavides, and James Christie
Factors in Three-to-Five-Year-Old Children's Play Olivia N. Saracho
Index
About the author
STUART REIFEL is Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches in the early childhood education program in the College of Education./e He has studied children's play in schools and homes for the past twenty years, and specializes in the meanings of children's play in their developmental contexts. He served as President for The Association for the Study of Play.
