Motivated by an increasingly globalized and technological world, countries around the world are rewriting their education policies in favor of play-based learning. South Korea, a country that recently reformed its early childhood curriculum to reflect an emphasis on a whole-child, active play pedagogy, is an important case of how child- and play-centered curriculum may translate into implementable practices. This study surveyed 182 Korean early childhood educators to explore their difficulties in implementing the 2019 Revised Nuri Curriculum. It investigated how these teachers conceptualize play from a science of learning perspective. Understanding their role in play and how play can elicit learning were reported as specific challenges. The study reports a misalignment between teachers’ belief that free play is most beneficial for learning and findings from the scientific literature supporting guided play as most effective for achieving a learning goal. The potential of further Nuri Curriculum revisions reflective of the science of learning paired with continuous professional development for Korean teachers is discussed.

在日益全球化和技术化的世界的推动下，世界各国正在重写其教育政策，以支持基于游戏的学习。韩国最近改革了幼儿课程，以体现对全童积极游戏教学法的重视，这是一个以儿童和游戏为中心的课程如何转化为可实施实践的重要案例。本研究对 182 名韩国幼儿教育工作者进行了调查，探讨他们在实施 2019 年修订版 Nuri 课程中遇到的困难。它调查了这些教师如何从学习科学的角度概念化游戏。了解他们在游戏中的角色以及游戏如何引发学习被报告为具体的挑战。该研究报告称，教师认为自由游戏对学习最有利，而科学文献中的研究结果则支持引导游戏对于实现学习目标最有效，两者之间存在着不一致。讨论了进一步修订 Nuri 课程的潜力，反映了学习科学与韩国教师持续专业发展的结合。