Children's play in peer cultures: Icelandic preschool children's views on play, rules in play, and the role of educators in their play
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Children’s play in preschools is a complicated phenomenon studied \nextensively from different perspectives and paradigms. This study draws on \nthe work of William Corsaro, to develop a study that used the sociology of \nchildhood perspective, with particular focus on understanding children’s \nknowledge and experiences. The aim of the study is to gain a better \nunderstanding of how children explain their activities in their preschool \nsettings, how they experience rules in their play activities, and how they see \nthe role of educators in their play. The purpose is to better understand \nchildren’s play by seeking their views on their participation in peer cultures. \nThis thesis reports on a multiple-case study inspired by ethnographic \napproaches. The study was conducted with two groups of children in two \npreschools in Reykjavík, Iceland, with children aged 3-6. Video-recordings \nfrom the ethnographic approach were used to support children’s \nconversations about their participation in the preschool activities. These \nconversations were captured through video-simulated accounts. \nThe main findings indicate that most children explained that their \npreferred activities were those in which they could take on various roles \nand make decisions about how to use the material as play. The children’s \nexplanations are related to how make-believe play has been defined. In \nother words, the children described themselves as playing when they \ncreated an imaginary situation, took on roles, and followed the rules \nrelevant for the play. The children used different strategies to challenge \nadult-initiated rules, which often were related to who could play, and who \ncould not, in the activity. The children’s status and power in their peer \nculture influenced how they saw the educator’s role in their play. They \nagreed that the educators seldom took part in their play; their role was \noften to be close to the children, observe and react when the children \nneeded help or when something went wrong. \nA major implication of the study is a better understanding of children’s \nplay in peer cultures from the children’s perspectives. The study highlights \nthe importance of listening to children’s views of activities that concern \nthem. The findings are valuable for early childhood educators to support \nunderstandings of how children explain their activities in their preschool \nsettings, including the different strategies they use to include some and not \nothers in their play, and how educators might reconsider their participation \nin children’s play by observing their status and power in the peer culture.
Source: Opin vísindi (Opin vísindi)
Author: Sara M. Ólafsdóttir
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3165023677