Under the guidance of Amy O’Leary and the team at Strategies for Children, I conducted a series of interviews with experts and stakeholders in the filed to further explore this topic. Guiding questions for the research included: What is play, and what makes an early childhood program “play-based”. Why does play remain a divisive issue? What are the misunderstandings and misconceptions about play-based pedagogy? How do we ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn through play? How must we communicate with policymakers, practitioners, and parents about the effects of play in young children’s learning and development? (author abstract)