Conference Program

Defining quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an inherently complex task, since educational practices are deeply embedded in cultural contexts and everyday family interactions. Anthropological and sociocultural research has shown that practices considered good for children in one context often reflect specific cultural values rather than universal developmental standards (Tobin, 2007; Adair & Doucet, 2014). Comparative European research on early childhood settings similarly indicates that educational practices remain strongly influenced by cultural contexts (Slot et al., 2016). One way to address this tension is to focus less on prescribing ideal practices and more on understanding relational processes that support children’s experiences within their everyday life environments, thereby encouraging a more harmonious interplay between formal educational settings and children’s everyday family interactions.

This study presents the results of a quasi-experimental analysis conducted within the broader evaluation of a local project in Tuscany (Italy) aimed at preventing educational poverty. The project included several services for families with children aged 0–6, among which experimental play sessions for parents and children organized in a nursery school and in local ludoteche (toy libraries / lekotek: Björck-Åkesson & Brodin, 1992). These sessions encouraged parents to engage in playful interaction with their children using simple natural materials and everyday environments.

The evaluation adopted a post-test only design with nonequivalent groups (Shadish, Cook & Campbell, 2002). A key methodological challenge was constructing an outcome measure aligned with the intervention’s goal: strengthening parents’ competence in facilitating play. A survey instrument was therefore developed combining attitudinal and behavioral measures.

Parents were presented with pictures depicting children engaged in ambiguous play situations involving natural environments and ordinary materials. For each image, respondents evaluated the appropriateness of alternative parental reactions ranging from restrictive behaviors to facilitating and cooperative interactions. The resulting scale captured two attitudinal orientations: play-inhibiting control and play-facilitating cooperation. The survey also collected information on children’s everyday activities alone and with their parents.

Despite limitations in internal validity—notably the absence of baseline data and voluntary participation—relevant patterns emerge. Parents who attended the play sessions showed higher levels of play-facilitating attitudes than parents who used other project services but did not attend the sessions. No differences emerged in play-inhibiting attitudes. Moreover, treated parents did not display higher levels of tolerance for ambiguity (Arquero & McLain, 2010; McLain, 2009), suggesting that the intervention may strengthen dispositions to engage in play without necessarily modifying deeper personality traits.

Beyond the causal interpretation of the treatment effect, the analysis clarifies the broader meaning of parental attitudes toward play. Higher levels of play facilitation are associated with children’s engagement in everyday activities such as outdoor, creative and pretend play (Bruner, Jolly & Sylva, 1976; Lillard, 2015).

Even with an imperfect design, the study shows that investigating parents’ mental representations that inform perceptions and behaviors (Pylyshin, 1972) can generate evidence on how everyday family interactions facilitate or constrain children’s playful experiences.