A comparison of teachers’ and children’s perceptions of play and the implications for early years classroom practice

McInnes, K and Birdsey, N (2015) A comparison of teachers’ and children’s perceptions of play and the implications for early years classroom practice. In: Barns lek – en barnlek? = Children's play - a pushover? Play and Early Learning Conference, 21 August 2015, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.

Abstract

Play is renowned as a difficult and complex concept to define and there are theorists who state that defining it is impossible (Moyles, 1989). Adult attempts to define play has been by: category (e.g. Piaget, 1951), criteria (e.g. Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg, 1983) and type (e.g. Hughes, 2006). There have also been attempts to define play according to children’s perspectives of play (e.g. Keating, Fabian, Jordan, Mavers, & Roberts, 2000; Wing, 1995). However, many of the studies looking at children’s perceptions of play have utilised methodologies which have not always been appropriate, especially for very young children, such as interview methodology. The Activity Apperception Story Procedure (AASP) (Howard, 2002) is a child-friendly, experimental procedure which has been used to elicit children’s perceptions of play. Studies which have utilised children’s perceptions of play according to results from the AASP have demonstrated a significant positive impact of playful practice on children’s learning. Therefore, it is imperative that practitioners understand children’s definitions of play and how it differs from their own to ensure best practice. Comparison of adults’ and children’s definitions of play have highlighted some similarities and differences however due to a lack of comparability in methodology this has not be researched extensively. This study utilised the same methodology, the AASP, with a sample of 80 children aged 4-7 years and 14 teachers across three Welsh schools to provide a clear comparison of children’s and teachers’ perceptions of play.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Keynote)
Divisions:	School of Education
Date Deposited:	04 Aug 2016 14:26
Last Modified:	29 Jun 2023 19:08
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/7994

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