The dialectical relation of real and digital Conceptual PlayWorlds in family day care

Play acts as the source of children’s development in the preschool period. Yet, the global pandemic has changed children’s play conditions in ways that are not yet fully understood. With movement restrictions, families have struggled to find ways of bringing children together for play. We studied how family day care (FDC) educators across a remote region of Australia used a digital platform to collectively play in a Conceptual PlayWorld. The central question was: How do the dialectical digital and real world conditions of play create developmental opportunities for children? To answer this, we researched how family day care educators, their leaders (n = 7) and the children (n = 38) from their respective FDC homes, simultaneously played at home and remotely using a zoom platform with a storyteller-player. 797.46 min of digital data were generated and analysed using the Vygotskian conception of the dialectical relation between rudimentary/real and ideal/mature forms of play. In drawing on previous cultural-historical theorisations of digital play, this paper discusses the new developmental conditions created in this real world and virtual context of FDC. We introduce new concepts for explaining the developmental processes and outcomes for these children.