Stefan Wassong

The aim of this study is to describe the foundation and development of the US-American playground movement, to explain the educational aims and to analyse them with regard to the effectiveness.  The research period comprises the decades between the end of the War of Secession and the entry of the USA into World War I . Furthermore the interconnections between the playground movement in the USA and the play education and playground politics in the German Empire as well as in the German Republic between 1919 and 1933 are analysed. The part of playground movement focuses the analysis, to which extend the foundation of the Playground Association of America and its works were influenced by the knowledge on the German Central Committee for promoting people’s and youth games and their measures to popularize the play movement. But the author also scrutinizes, whether the recognization of the playground movement by the representatives of the play and sports movement in Germany has abetted playground politics, playground development and its educational legitimation in the German Empire and the German Republic of Weimar.

ISBN/ISSN:  3-89899-244-2 New ISBN:  978-3-89899-244-6
Aachen Meyer & Meyer Verlag 2006