ABSTRACT
Playing-2-gether is a pedagogical approach that helps to create high-quality teacher-child relationships in preschool through play. Building on attachment theory, Playing-2-gether supports teachers to be more sensitive to relational needs of children in the context of child-centred play sessions. Teachers practice skills to follow children’s lead in play, thus confirming and supporting the initiatives of children. The professionalization trajectory consists of tools that support changes in practice and tools that support reflection (e.g. video coaching). Reflection on the teacher-child relationship is a central focus in the professionalization. Participating teachers in Portugal, Slovakia and the Netherlands practiced Playing-2-gether with children whom they identified to have challenging behaviour. Teacher narratives show that the participating teachers started to change their beliefs, values and practice. The new teacher-child interaction patterns created more opportunities for children to express their own perspectives and for teachers to move steadily from an adult-centred to a more child-centred approach. Children enjoyed the play sessions and teachers reported longer concentration spans during play. Children showed a decrease in challenging behaviour and an increase in prosocial behaviour with their peers, as perceived by their teachers. The impact of Playing-2-gether and recommendations for professionalization in in-service and pre-service training are discussed.
