Adult Actions Supporting Narrative Playworlds in the Classroom
Adult Actions Supporting Narrative Playworlds in the Classroom

Summary/Abstract: This study is a part of a more significant Narrative Play and Learning (NEPL) project in daycare centres in Vilnius, Lithuania, lasting for three years. The role of the adult in the narrative playworld is crucial, as their actions determine the nature and continuity of the play activities and the children’s motivation, engage-ment, and opportunities for action. This qualitative study explores the teacher’s in-volvement in the narrative playworld and examines what adult actions contribute to collaborative play development. The results show that the actions contributing to the development of collaborative play activities involve all participants, children, and adults, and create a situation where the adult becomes a partner in the children’s play but does not lead the activity. All the cases analysed show that the teacher’s par-ticipation in narrative play is a creative activity that requires constant improvisation. The children’s reactions are always spontaneous and unpredictable; they do not know the teacher’s plan, and the narrative playworld is created in the here and now. In con-clusion, the NEPL programme, as a cultural tool, helps the adult create and maintain favourable conditions for collaborative play development.

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