Play : A Polyphony of Research, Theories, and Issues

The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) (www.tasp.org) is the sponsor of volume twelve in the Play & Culture Studies series. TASP is a professional group of interdisciplinary researchers who study play.
Polyphony, defined as having many tones or voices, was used by the Russian philosopher Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin to describe the immense plurality of experiences in relationships. The chapters in volume 12 of Play & Culture Studies address the polyphony or many voices in the study of play from an interdisciplinary cadre of scholars in the fields of anthropology, education, psychology, linguistics, and history. In this time of globalization, hyper-capitalism, and discourses that disqualify children’s play, we invite the reader to participate in diverse ways of thinking about play and pedagogy. To this end, Play, Volume 12 addresses research methodology, contemporary theories, technology, and advocacy. Applications to practice and policy implications are presented.

Lynn E. Cohen is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Literacy at Long Island University, C.W. Post. Her research interests are related to the social and philosophical dimensions of children’s play and equity in school settings. She has been involved in a university school partnership, providing administrative support for a play-based early childhood curriculum.
Sandra Waite-Stupiansky is a professor of early childhood and special education at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She studies and teaches child development and early childhood education curriculum, particularly the role of outdoor play. She edits Play, Policy, and Practice Connections, a publication of the Play, Policy, and Practice Interest Forum of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.