THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY FOR THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Abstract

This study investigates how the concept of “play” is addressed in academic works on mathematics teaching in Early Childhood Education, particularly regarding early years teacher training and playful activities. The main objective is to identify, in theses and dissertations focused on Early Childhood Education and Mathematics, how this relationship is established. The guiding research question is: how can play contribute to the teaching of mathematics in Early Childhood Education?All sources were obtained from the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD). The initial corpus included 76 studies, which were filtered according to platform criteria to include only those addressing Mathematics, Early Childhood Education, and play. Analysis was conducted through data extraction and systematization to identify concepts of playfulness. Ultimately, 10 studies were selected to support the analysis.The findings indicate that play is essential in Early Childhood Education, serving as a privileged means for knowledge construction, including mathematics. Through play, children explore, investigate, formulate hypotheses, socialize, and develop concepts related to quantity, space, shape, measurement, logic, and other fundamental mathematical skills.