In 1992, the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), in conjunction with Wheelock College (Boston), sponsored its second workshop on children's play, entitled "Play and Cognitive Ability: The Cultural Context." This volume reflects the presentations and discussions held at the workshop, offering perspectives on children's play that, taken together, provide a multidimensional picture of play and value of play in children's lives. The articles are divided into four sections: "Planning for Play: From the State Level to Classroom and Home,""Play and Teacher Education,""Children, Stress, and Play" and "Play and Policy." The articles are: (1) "Playing across the Curriculum and Culture: Strengthening Early Primary Education in California" (Patricia Monighan Nourot); (2)"Enhancing Children's Sociodramatic Play through Teacher Instruction: The Play Training Collaboration" (Karen VanderVen and others); (3) "Enabling Children's Play: The Teacher's Role" (Elizabeth Jones and Gretchen Reynolds); (4) "A Pilot Program for Involving Kindergarten Parents and Their Children's Sociodramatic Play" (Yael Gabrieli); (5) "Politics, Pretend Play, and Pedagogy in Early Childhood Preservice and Inservice Education" (Doris Fromberg); (6) "Adding the Play Dimension to Teacher Education: One Model" (Edgar Klugman); (7) "The Importance of Play in Human Development: A Head Start Training Model" (Ingrid Chalufour and Walter Drew); (8) "The Assessment of Dramatic and Sociodramatic Play: Goals, Tools, Criteria, and Conceptual Frameworks" (Leah Shefatya); (9) "Play in Wartime: The Case of Israeli Children under Missile Attack" (Naomi Bat-Zion); (10) "Documenting the Value of Play for Hospitalized Children: The Challenge in Playing the Game" (Richard Thompson); (11) "Universal Design of Playgrounds for All Children: New Ways to Play Together" (Kimberly Blakely and Mary Ann Lang); (12) "Media, Culture, and the Undermining of Play in the United States" (Diane Levin); (13) "Playing with Policy: A Serious Undertaking" (Carol Seefeldt); and (14) "Taking the High Road toward a Definition of Play" (Edgar Klugman and Lyn Fasoli). An epilogue notes that it is still our task to refine and focus our thinking about play and to build momentum for the strategic placement of play at the center of curricular planning for young children. Each article contains references. (HTH)