One could make a study of the trends in play research examining the topics presented for publication in journals such as the International Journal of Play. This issue presents several papers that focus on early childhood, space, and construction toys. One wonders if the influence of funds fueling educational research from the toy industry may contribute to the trend, with no judgment about the utility of such funding for the research itself. The editors are pleased to include an article from the country of Oman for the first time with Iskender Gelir, Ali Kemal Tekin, and Laila Al-Salmi’s ‘Investigating young children’s engineering construction and design in free outdoor play activities in Oman.’ Read this in conjunction with Kadriye Akdemir and Serap Sevimli-Celik’s Turkish study of ‘Ways preschoolers use spatial and architectural design skills during constructive play.’ Eleni Tympa brings us ‘Perspectives on intergenerational playing: Viewpoints of grandparents and teachers in a Greek preschool context.’ The tension between perspectives from different stakeholders is an important part of the intellectual humility of our collective research agenda.
Sabilah Eboo Alwani, Natalie Day, and Krishna Kulkarni share ‘Making space for play in global post-Covid childhoods.’ Their article is based on data from the Global Symposium on Post-Pandemic Play, a virtual conference sponsored by the University of Cambridge. We are still learning about the aftermath of the pandemic on children’s social and emotional lives and the extent to which their education and social development have been disrupted. Jesper Falck Legaard offers ‘SCUSA: Identifying five types of disruption for playful experiences’ from Denmark, although here disruption is a positive thing. Perhaps the most disruptive thing for a play journal to do is to include Moritz Wischert-Zielke’s essay from Germany, ‘Rethinking playfulness: Things, bodies, and ideas as play partners and their agency in mediated sex, kink, and BDSM spaces.’ Even though we may blush, there is much to be learned from the study of adult play. Our mentor Brian Sutton-Smith would insist on this, the broadest view possible of the diversity of play itself. Look for the new book we are editing in his honor, Brian Sutton-Smith, Playful Scholar: A Centennial Celebration.
Elizabeth Tucker returns us to ‘Books Worth (Re)reading’ with an interesting essay on Branden Holmes’s and Gareth Linnard’s Thylacine: The History, Ecology and Loss of the Tasmanian Tiger (2023). It appears that the thylacine, or extinct Tasmanian tiger, has a new life in several video games at the moment. Our book editor, Sylwyn Guilbaud presents two books on play’s utility and its implementation: Handbook of Research on Play Specialism Strategies to Prevent Pediatric Hospitalization Trauma, edited by Giulia Perasso and Yagmur Ozturk, reviewed by Laura Walsh, and also The Right of the Child to Play: From Conception to Implementation by Naomi Lott, reviewed by Michael Follett.
Our ‘Play Memories’ section reminds us of the dialudic tensions in play, the pleasure/pain and leader/follower dynamics that seem built in to the play process. We present ‘A Potion for Pain’ by Ryleigh Cain and Sierra Gallucci’s ‘A Groos Case Study: Future Educator?’ We appear to play with time itself, practicing for the unknown.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).