Shall the twain meet? Prospects for a playfully play-full Scottish education

This is the opening paper in a Scottish Educational Review collection on Making
Space for Play in Scottish Education. It is acknowledged that, historically, a
perception of divergent purpose enabled education both to enlist play and to curb
play to achieve desired educational outcomes. However, a new understanding of
play has emerged in recent years, catalysed globally by the assertion in the
UNCRC that play is a fundamental right of the child, and within the UK, by the
response of the play sector to the challenge to articulate the value of play that was
set by the Dobson report. Scotland is now a globally significant locus for the
promotion of play, with strong national play leadership and, since 2013, a National
Play Strategy. This paper asserts that it is timely to consider the extent to which
Scottish education could and should embrace playful learning.