This book, published in 2020, is part of the Postcards from Scotland Series published by the Centre for Confidence. It brings together leading practitioners, policymakers and academics to challenge an idea deeply ingrained in Scottish culture: that formal education needs to begin early if it is to be effective. The science tells us that the opposite is true. In fact, what young children really need is lots of play.
The book’s editor, Sue Palmer, is well placed to make that argument, having founded the Upstart Scotland campaign in 2016, which has been pressing for the establishment of a kindergarten stage in Scottish education. It turns out that this educational shift can’t be accomplished without a wider cultural shift in thinking about what children need. The book explores how we might go about nurturing that shift.
Suzanne’s chapter is entitled Relationships, play and learning in Scottish identity. She explores the meanings that words such as ‘play’, ‘education’ and ‘learning’ hold in Scottish culture. She argues that feelings run so deep that bringing play into education means bringing it into wider society as well. Isn’t play frivolous? What happens if you don’t keep control over children’s behaviour? What would schooling look like if you didn’t get children into the way of it early on? These are big questions for a word as short and sweet as ‘play’.
