Cultivating Playfulness: A Stance for Inclusive and Engaging Learning

Playfulness can be a powerful way of teaching at every stage of primary education. Scotland’s Playfulness Project shows how nine schools are reimagining playfulness as a pedagogical stance that brings joy, curiosity, agency, and meaningful engagement into learning across the curriculum. As teachers shift from simply delivering instruction to becoming facilitators, co-players, observers, and designers, children are showing greater confidence, creativity, collaboration, perseverance, and wellbeing. Just as importantly, educators are gaining the confidence to balance curriculum expectations with children’s autonomy and diverse needs. Rather than offering another program to implement, the project demonstrates how a playful mindset can transform classroom practice and school culture—creating inclusive environments where rigorous learning and joyful learning are not competing priorities, but partners.

Click below to read the article in the September/October 2026 issue of Childhood Education Innovations, available for a limited time with free access to the public.

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