Abstract:
This paper explores some of the insights (expressed as 'eureka' moments) that were experienced by New Zealand families, teachers and researchers during a research project which used Rogoff's foci of analysis as both a tool for gathering and analysing data. The New Zealand study took place as part of an International Play Project for Organisation Mondiale Pour Le Prescholaire (OMEP). This project involved 'a day in the life' of five very young children across eight countries, and focussed on personal, interpersonal and community/institutional perspectives of play. Results highlight the significant influence of individual, local, cultural and societal values in shaping the experience and associated conceptualisation of play for very young children, and the benefits of sociocultural research in capturing some of this complexity.