Abstract This study attempted to understand children’s involvement in play-based learning in relation to teachers’ roles in and strategies for play. Observational data, including video recordings, were collected from six kindergarten teachers in two Hong Kong kindergartens to investigate their roles in and strategies for play-based learning. A qualitative observational design was employed, and the data were subsequently quantified using descriptive statistics to summarise the themes identified through thematic and conversation analyses. The findings indicated that the teachers frequently undertook the director role and gave orders in play, while the children tended to be involved in directed play and followed the teachers’ instructions. The study’s findings also showed the effectiveness of facilitative strategies, such as considering and extending the children’s perspectives and enriching the play content, in fostering the children’s active engagement in learning through play. These results provide pragmatic implications for implementing a play-based learning approach that supports children’s active involvement in play.
Cheung et al. (2026) studied this question.