Location
Boston 1
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
This qualitative case study explores how a third-grade teacher in a Southeastern US state integrates active, playful learning in a high-stakes accountability environment. Despite increasing political and curricular restrictions—including mandatory retention policies, banned books, and high-stakes standardized testing—this teacher designs and implements learning experiences that center student engagement, voice, and joy. Drawing on classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and instructional artifacts, the study investigates how she navigates formal and informal policies while maintaining developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive instruction.
Early findings suggest that playful pedagogies can not only coexist with accountability mandates but may also serve as a stabilizing force for teachers and students operating under significant external pressure. This presentation will share preliminary themes related to adaptive decision-making, classroom autonomy, and the redefinition of success within restrictive conditions. By highlighting both the tensions and the opportunities that arise in policy-constrained spaces, this work contributes to emerging conversations on equity, teacher agency, and the importance of sustaining joyful learning in upper elementary classrooms.
Keywords
play-based learning, accountability, third grade, teacher agency, qualitative case study
Professional Bio
Karyn Allee is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education at Mercer University. Her research focuses on how poverty affects cognitive development, social justice work in education, and instructional strategies (including play and physical activity) to reduce academic achievement gaps. Dr. Allee has been published in multiple journals including the Early Childhood Education Journal, The Reading Teacher, and the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, and she serves on the editorial review board for Journal of Education and Journal of Research in Childhood Education.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Osier, Ashley P.; Sutton, Andrew N.; Wilson, Marcus T.; Wright, Johna A.; and Allee, Karyn A., "Balancing Play and Policy: Navigating Joyful Learning in a High-Stakes Third Grade Classroom" (2026). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 64.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2026/2026/64
Balancing Play and Policy: Navigating Joyful Learning in a High-Stakes Third Grade Classroom
Boston 1
This qualitative case study explores how a third-grade teacher in a Southeastern US state integrates active, playful learning in a high-stakes accountability environment. Despite increasing political and curricular restrictions—including mandatory retention policies, banned books, and high-stakes standardized testing—this teacher designs and implements learning experiences that center student engagement, voice, and joy. Drawing on classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and instructional artifacts, the study investigates how she navigates formal and informal policies while maintaining developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive instruction.
Early findings suggest that playful pedagogies can not only coexist with accountability mandates but may also serve as a stabilizing force for teachers and students operating under significant external pressure. This presentation will share preliminary themes related to adaptive decision-making, classroom autonomy, and the redefinition of success within restrictive conditions. By highlighting both the tensions and the opportunities that arise in policy-constrained spaces, this work contributes to emerging conversations on equity, teacher agency, and the importance of sustaining joyful learning in upper elementary classrooms.
