It’s been eight years since New Hampshire lawmakers, sounding the alarm on the “academization” of kindergarten, amended education law to ensure that kindergarten is structured on a play-based model. Policymakers in a handful of states followed suit, introducing or passing similar legislation. Others are likely on the fence, watching to see what changes result from this renewed push for play-based learning in early education. A new report offers some clues.
It turns out that what drove New Hampshire lawmakers to reintroduce play in kindergarten is also the main factor that’s preventing the state’s early educators from going “all-in” on it.
That’s one of the key findings from a June report that examines the impact of the 2018 June law change on early educators’ perceptions and behaviors around play-based learning. The study, published by the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, is based on a 2024 statewide survey of 445 New Hampshire kindergarten teachers and 138 elementary school administrators.
More than one way to play in kindergarten
Researchers didn’t just ask New Hampshire early educators whether or not they were familiar with play-based learning. They asked specifically about their underlying beliefs about its value, said Emily Braham, the report’s lead author and a senior research associate at the Education Development Center, a global nonprofit research organization.
It’s not a simple or straightforward question. Since the play-dominated days of kindergarten decades ago, academic expectations in early education have expanded. So too has the definition of play.
While all play-based learning aims to create educational experiences for children that are “active, engaging, meaningful, iterative, and joyful,” according to the report, not all play in classrooms looks the same. Nor does it lead to the same results, say education researchers.
“I love free play, and free play has its own rights. It’s great for social development. It’s great for helping kids build their confidence,” said Kimberly Nesbitt, an associate professor in the University of New Hampshire’s department of human development and family studies. “But it’s not going to organically, on its own, teach kids how to read.”
Free play, as it sounds, lets children decide what to do, which materials to use, and how. Then there’s guided play, in which teachers lead playful activities that involve structured rules and expectations. The three-part guided play model, a structured, evidence-based, and outcomes-oriented form of play-based learning, was developed by University of New Hampshire researchers in response to the 2018 legislation.
The research-based model involves: a whole-group discussion that introduces students to materials and “primes” them for the playful activity, dedicated time for guided play, and a follow-up that involves whole-group discussion for reflection.
State received support to develop evidence-based play model and training
New Hampshire received a $26.8 million preschool development grant for 2020 to 2023 in support of its push for play-based learning. That grant paved the way for the development of an evidence-backed, play-based model and related training for educators—ranging from one-time workshops for teachers and administrators to intensive, practice-based coaching for small cohorts of kindergarten teachers. Nesbitt is the primary investigator on the grant.
As of spring 2024, when the survey took place, only a minority of early educators surveyed had participated in the intensive guided-play training provided by University of New Hampshire research experts. Among those who responded to the survey, 10% of teachers with zero to 3 years of experience had undergone this intensive training on guided play; 16% of teachers with 4–10 years of experience had; and 22% of teachers with 11 or more years of experience had completed the training.
Even fewer reported being familiar with the model. One-third of kindergarten teachers surveyed reported being familiar with the UNH three-part guided play model. Specifically, 17% said they were “familiar,” 8% “very familiar,” and 9% “extremely familiar.” This lack of knowledge about the evidence-backed model of play may explain why most teachers from the survey leaned into free play or center play in their classrooms rather than guided play.
Most educators say they believe in the value of play in learning
Even though only a small percentage of the state’s kindergarten teachers surveyed had undergone intensive training on the evidence-based, three-part guided play model, most agreed that play has educational value in early education.
Ninety four percent of kindergarten teachers in the study sample “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that children develop social-emotional skills through play; 95% agreed that children develop academic skills through play.
Administrators responded similarly. Almost all—98%—agreed that play slightly or strongly develops social-emotional and academic skills. Just 2% of responding elementary school administrators disagreed.
Yet play-based learning remains an inconsistent presence in kindergarten classrooms.
Despite overwhelmingly agreeing that play-based learning supports both social-emotional and academic skills, 75% of teachers surveyed pointed to “pressure to achieve academic benchmarks” as a barrier to implementing guided play. Seventy-two percent of teachers agreed that they do not have enough time to plan for guided play.
These statistics suggest that this message, shared by Nesbitt and co-authors in An Active Playful Learning Guidebook for New Hampshire Teachers, hasn’t entirely sunk in yet: “Decades of research demonstrate that play is not a break from learning, but a powerful way of learning itself.”
