Much has happened since the first edition of this book in the arenas of policy development, research and practice. Early childhood education is at the heart of policy-making agendas in England and many other developed and developing countries. Concerns with the quality of provision have sparked a massive international research endeavour, which is seeking to identify effective provision and practice in different cultures, and in different early childhood settings. There is also a thriving international play scholarship which ranges broadly across many different themes that are central to high-quality provision and effective teaching and learning. Contemporary research studies in the field of play are exciting in their foci, innovative in their methods and contentious in the eclecticism of their theoretical frameworks. The field remains open to debate, discussion and argument regarding the role and value of play in learning and development. Nevertheless, there have been many practical outcomes that are of direct relevance to practitioners as they strive towards improving the quality of play. This second edition reflects these trends, and draws substantially on academic and practitioner research. Guided by feedback from readers of the first edition, the authors have aimed to integrate theory and practice throughout the book. The first four chapters focus mainly on theoretical frameworks, which explain different aspects of learning, the benefits of different forms of play, and a rationale for a play-based curriculum and pedagogy. The second half of the book develops the theme of creating unity between playing, learning and teaching. The authors have highlighted ongoing issues, questions and dilemmas that practitioners encounter, and have provided many practical examples to show how these have been addressed. Following a preface, the following chapters appear: (1) "The Problems with Play"; (2) "Ideologies, Ideals and Theories"; (3) "Understanding Children's Learning: Multi-theoretical Perspectives"; (4) "Contemporary Socio-cultural Theories"; (5) "Developing Play in the Curriculum"; (6) "Developing a Pedagogy of Play"; (7) "Assessing Children's Learning in Play"; and (8) "Improving the Quality of Play". A bibliography, author index, and subject index are also included. (Contains 48 figures.)