Press Play on Play-Based Learning

In the evolving landscape of elementary education, more principals are overseeing early childhood programs. Approximately 3.63 million children were enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs across the U.S. in 2023, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and 3.5 million were enrolled in public kindergarten.

This trend asks elementary principals to lead early learning environments and balance academic expectations with developmentally appropriate practices—a skill many feel ill-prepared to manage. Many principals’ administrative certifications and fieldwork didn’t include sufficient training in early childhood education.

In 2020, only about 1 in 5 elementary principals felt adequately trained to support early childhood programs, says The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children by Suzanne Bouffard. This creates challenges for principals needing to make decisions about developmentally appropriate practices that affect young learners. The gap in understanding of constructivist learning approaches only heightens these challenges.

Constructivist Theory

Pioneered by psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, constructivist learning theory is a foundational framework for early childhood education. The theorists emphasized the idea that children actively construct knowledge through interaction with their environment and social exchanges, a concept critical to fostering developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development outlines how children move through four stages of learning: sensorimotor (birth to 2 years), preoperational (2 to 7 years), concrete operational (7 to 11 years), and formal operational (11 years and up). In early childhood, kids are mostly in the preoperational stage, in which symbolic thinking, imaginative play, and language development take center stage.

Piaget said learning is an active process in which children assimilate new information into existing cognitive structures and accommodate mental models based on new experiences. Play—especially symbolic play—is crucial during this stage, as children learn to represent objects and events through symbols including words and images. Symbolic thinking is foundational to early literacy development.

Incorporating Symbolic Play

Symbolic play—pretending to read a book to a doll or writing a shopping list in a play kitchen, for example—helps children practice the cognitive skills necessary for reading and writing. When a child “reads” to a peer or mimics writing in dramatic play scenarios, they are building early literacy skills such as letter recognition and phonemic awareness. By integrating symbolic play into early childhood classrooms, principals can ensure that the learning environment contributes to the development of literacy skills essential to later success.

To prioritize symbolic play, classrooms can include role-playing areas or art corners where children can use symbols, images, or words to represent objects and ideas. Giving children ample time for free play and child-initiated activities allows them to experiment, reflect, and internalize new learning experiences and foster cognitive development.

Piaget also stressed the importance of hands-on learning. Principals can encourage teachers to use manipulatives such as blocks, counting beads, or sand tables to help children physically engage with learning materials and deepen understanding of math and science concepts.

The Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky extended the constructivist framework by emphasizing the social nature of learning; children acquire new knowledge through interactions with more knowledgeable peers or adults. His concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)—the gap between what a child can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance or support—is central to his theory.

That’s where scaffolding comes in: Adults provide the support necessary to help a child learn new skills just beyond their current abilities and, over time, remove the supports as the child becomes more competent and masters a task independently.

Principals can encourage teaching strategies that use scaffolding in the classroom by allowing teachers to design activities that align with each student’s ZPD, differentiating instruction. Peer-to-peer learning is also a good social-learning strategy, since children learn by observing and interacting with one another. Collaboration among teachers and early childhood educators through professional learning communities can help educators share strategies for scaffolding and identify students’ ZPD.

How Play Aids Learning

Play is not just a recreational activity for young children—it is fundamental to their exploration and builds cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Principals often see dramatic play as a waste of academic time, but when children engage in play, they act out and process information received in and out of the classroom.

For instance, children pretending to run a veterinarian’s office after reading a book about pets aren’t just playing; they’re developing literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, and communication skills. Moreover, play fosters social-emotional growth by allowing children to collaborate, negotiate, and practice self-regulation.

Academic rigor is often misunderstood as a strict adherence to structured lessons, measurable outcomes, and high expectations for achievement. One of the challenges for principals managing early childhood programs is to understand how to balance academic rigor with developmentally appropriate practices that meet children at their current developmental stage and provide experiences that promote growth.

Principals must realize that play is not the opposite of rigor; instead, it is an avenue for young children to access rigorous learning. Academic rigor requires an environment in which students construct knowledge, and for young children, that’s an environment that prioritizes play, says Barbara Blackburn in Rigor Is NOT a Four-Letter Word.

Play allows children to push the boundaries of their learning to acquire new knowledge and skills in a context that feels safe and engaging. Play-based scenarios help children progress naturally from basic recall to higher-level skills such as analysis and creation.

Principals Must Provide Support

Principals who recognize the value of play can support teachers in designing classrooms in which academic rigor and developmentally appropriate
practices coexist, enabling children to think critically, collaborate with peers, and reach their full potential. Here’s how:

1. Be present in classrooms. Principals need to be visible in early childhood classrooms, observing and engaging with teachers and students. This allows principals to understand the dynamics of play-based learning and how it supports academic and developmental goals.
2. Pursue professional development (PD). Principals should seek out PD that focuses on early childhood education to stay informed about best practices. Seek training on developmentally appropriate practices, play-based learning, and constructivist approaches.
3. Support play-based learning. Principals should advocate for the resources necessary to create engaging, developmentally appropriate play environments in early childhood classrooms, including outdoor play spaces, sensory materials, or opportunities for dramatic play.
4. Advocate for quality early childhood education. Principals can advance policies and practices that prioritize early childhood education, such as securing funding for early childhood programs or promoting smaller class sizes for pre-K–3 learning.

As preschool enrollment continues to rise in public schools, elementary principals’ role in overseeing early childhood programs will only increase. By deepening their understanding of early childhood education, embracing developmentally appropriate practices, and supporting play-based learning, principals can create school environments that allow young children to thrive.

Barbara A. Jones is an assistant professor at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.