• Posted August 24, 2026

Play Important Part Of Preschool Learning — But These Parents Don't Agree, Study Says

Play is considered one of the most powerful ways young children can learn and grow, but some preschools face family opposition to frolicking, a new study says.

Nearly all teachers (97%) strongly agree that play supports academic learning in preschool settings, researchers report in the Early Childhood Education Journal.

But urban families are less likely to support play-based learning in preschool than families from suburban or rural areas, researchers found.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that play doesn’t support learning,” said lead researcher Erin Fox, who did the study during her doctoral studies in human development and family science at Ohio State University.

“In general, I think most people would agree that play supports social emotional development, but (they) may be less likely to understand how play can also support early literacy or math skills,” Fox said in a news release.

Evidence has shown that playful learning is more than just a break from class or a way for kids to burn off energy, researchers said in background notes. Instead, it’s an active learning approach that combines child-directed play with intentional adult guidance.

“From the outside, it might just look like kids are playing, but when you actually talk to the teachers, it’s very intentional and there are clear learning goals behind it,” researcher Kelly Purtell, an associate professor of human sciences at Ohio State, said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers surveyed 110 preschool teachers in two Midwestern states to examine how classroom play is supported across urban, suburban and rural settings.

The survey revealed that particularly in urban areas, families have started to view preschool as a means of preparing their kids for elementary school success.

“When talking to teachers, both formally and informally, they’ve expressed that when some families send their kids to preschool, they really expect them to be there to learn and to be ready for kindergarten,” Purtell said.

These families are more likely to view play-based learning as fooling around rather than as a means of creating the building blocks for children’s future success, researchers said.

There’s a growing need to better educate parents and families about the important role of play-based learning in ensuring school readiness, Purtell said.

“Play-based learning is a developmentally appropriate learning strategy,” she said, “And it’s something parents should feel comfortable talking to their children’s teachers about — to better understand how and why teachers are using play in the classroom — and how that’s helping kids develop and get ready for the transition to school.”

More information

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has more on the power of playful learning.

SOURCE: Ohio State University, news release, Aug. 20, 2026