Koh, Puay Yeong Eugenia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4562-7152 and Myat, Easton (2026) Decolonising play in initial teacher education through transnational lenses. In: European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2026, 17 Aug 2026 - 21 Aug 2026, Tampere University, Finland.

Abstract

Play and playwork are central ideas in early childhood education and feature prominently in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs internationally. While play can be understood as a universal human experience, much of Western scholarship on playwork continues to draw on theories, pedagogical traditions, and professional practices that have largely developed within European contexts (King & Newstead, 2020; Playwork Principles Scrutiny Group, 2005). These epistemological approaches have contributed to positioning Western constructions of play as authoritative benchmarks for how play is understood and supported (Newstead & King, 2022; Rennie, 1991). As ITE cohorts become increasingly culturally diverse, this raises important questions about how playwork is taught, whose knowledge of play is recognised, and how pre-service teachers from non-Western backgrounds experience playwork education. This paper explores an ongoing reflexive teaching practice aimed at decolonising playwork within an ITE program at an Australian university. Building on an autobiographical book chapter that draws on 'Asia as Method' (Chen, 2010) to question Western-centric constructions of play, the study draws on data collected from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) pre-service teachers enrolled in a dedicated playwork unit. Across a term, changes are introduced to the unit to intentionally recognise diverse childhood play experiences and cultural understandings of play. Decolonising play is approached as an iterative and reflective process embedded in teaching practice, curriculum design, and engagement with CALD pre-service teachers. Through the revised unit design and teaching approach, pre-service teachers are introduced not only to established theories of play and playwork, but also to critical perspectives that emphasise plural and culturally situated understandings of play. In addition to theoretical learning, students participate in practice-based activities, including the design and facilitation of pop-up adventure play spaces in community settings. These activities are intended to create opportunities for students to reflect on their own childhood play memories, cultural backgrounds, and assumptions about playwork, and to consider how these intersect with what is valued in formal teacher education. The paper is guided by the following research question: • How do decolonising approaches to playwork within Initial Teacher Education shape the understandings of play and playwork among culturally and linguistically diverse pre-service teachers? By situating this work within the international field of early childhood education, the paper contributes to ongoing conversations about playwork, epistemic inclusion, and the role of teacher education in responding to increasingly diverse student cohorts. While grounded in an Australian context, the issues raised are relevant to European and other international ITE settings where playwork remains deeply shaped by historically Western pedagogical traditions.

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