Playing is for grown ups

Play is widely recognised as a vital part of early childhood development, but is slowly squeezed out of formal education as people go through the education system.
This poster illustrates many ways that play is valuable in adult and post-compulsory education, particularly in improving the information skills of learners. It shows that the squeezing out of play is counterproductive and that play and playfulness has a significant and positive contribution towards learning in post compulsory education.
The structure of the poster will be informed by the literature showing playful benefits such as providing a safe place for criticality, for learning and practicing skills, for considering problems from different perspectives, for constructivist and social constructivist approaches to teaching, for placing information skills in context, and more. It will also cover barriers to play, in particular the need for "permission" to play.
The poster is presented in a playful, comic book, style and includes invitations to play.
Alongside the theoretical benefits and problems illustrated by the poster, materials will be available to illustrate options to overcome those barriers to putting play into practice.