The Meaning of Play and Implications for Social Studies Education

Abstract

Purpose This study began with a sense of problem that education on play needs to be conducted in social studies education in order to take advantage of the recent increase in leisure time due to the decrease in working hours. Existing studies related to social studies education often used play only as a teaching method, but this study attempted to explore the meaning and properties of play, derive the significance of social studies education, and then suggest the direction of application. Method The properties of play were summarized based on literature research with Huizinga and Caillois, and this was reviewed focusing on the introduction of digital devices that had a great influence on play in modern society. Results In modern society, technologies have been developed to enable greater immersion in play, and these technologies are advancing in a way that life in the real world and play in virtual space are not separated but integrated. Spontaneity is maintained in the sense of choosing one's own play, but the restrictive nature of activities separated from the real world is weakened. In addition, there are cases where additional productive characteristics are given, and the rules can be actively changed by participants in the play. Considering this, spontaneity among the attributes of play in modern society remains the same, but other attributes diversify depending on play. One of the common characteristics of play in modern society is that play is more connected to life than in the past. Conclusion To this end, a total of two directions were proposed on how play can be applied in social studies education. First, it should reflect the appearance of humans playing in social studies goals. Existing educational goals were biased toward the perspective of Homo Sapiens or the perspective of Homo Faber. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the perspective of Homo Ludens as an educational goal. Second, when constructing classes in social studies education, it can be configured to have the characteristics of play itself.