Playful pedagogy as a tool through memory work to enhance professional learning and teaching practice

Abstract

Memory-work is inevitable in any study that uses participants to reflect on their past so the research strategies
we used in the study, on which this paper is based, helped us to recall and reflect on our experiences as primary
school learners. In this article, we explore memory-work as a self-study approach to educational research that
calls on the distinctive personal memories of three South African primary school teachers. The memories we
share are positioned in stories as we reminisce on some childhood and adolescent encounters and our reflections
expose what we learned from these experiences as narrated in pertinent excerpts. We adopted sociocultural
theory since we understand that learners’ actions take place in sociocultural settings. This theory allows
individuals to understand their learning as being embedded in social experiences. The key notion we discuss is
that play enhances learning since it allows children and young people to solve problems, make decisions, and
interact as they discuss their ideas. Our voices therefore unite in dialogue, and we reveal our reciprocal learning
as we narrate and reflect on our personal memories. Our writing, which is both reflective and questioning as we
explore these memories, emphasises the pedagogic meanings we attach to some childhood and adolescent
encounters, particularly those that were embedded in childhood culture. Furthermore, our analyses of our voices
reveal various emerging perceptions that have strengthened our learning and teaching as educational
practitioners. Additionally, the memory-work in which we engaged allowed us to position ourselves in a grateful
yet critical position to better understand our past experiences and how these had aided both our educational and
social change. In this paper, we aim to promote the use of playful pedagogy for individual growth. It is
envisaged that other teachers could foster the sociocultural advancement of learners through a playful
pedagogical context.