Classified "A" by ANVUR in the fields 11/D1, 11/D2 Scientific in the field 14.
Abstract
This paper explores the transformation of play in early childhood education services, bringing together theoretical perspectives, historical sources, and contemporary evidence. Starting from a pedagogical framework inspired by Maria Montessori, the research investigates the value of play, developing along two lines: on the one hand, a qualitative analysis of documents from 1952, held by the Center for Pedagogical Studies in Perugia, to reconstruct contexts and interpretations of play from the perspective of several teachers; on the other, interviews with pedagogical coordinators of today's Montessori schools, to investigate current play practices in relation to the growing presence of technology. The comparison between past and present enables a critical reflection on the dimensions of play in the Montessori method, and how digital tools are redefining its expressive, symbolic, and relational possibilities of play today.
