Play for young children is not only a fundamental right, it's also a key aspect to their holistic development. While children tend to find a way to play in almost any environment, the type and quality of the play are influenced by physical, social, and cultural features of the environment. This study explored the relationship between children's play, well-being, and involvement. It also investigated the kinds of play young children engaged in during free play sessions in outdoor and indoor environments.
Eighty children (age 2-6) from eight different early childhood institutions in Norway participated in this study. Observations of the children took place during a four-week period in a single month. Two child participants were selected for each observational day. The researcher and fellow researcher (classroom teacher) focused on these two children during two-hour free play sessions in both indoor and outdoor environments. The outdoor environments were not necessarily naturalized playspaces. There were five days of structured observations in each of the eight participating institutions. All observations were video recorded. A quantitative analysis of the video observations focused on (1) time spent in different kinds of play (functional, symbolic, constructive, mixed play, and non-play) and (2) the children's level of well-being and involvement while engaged in play.
Results showed a significant and positive correlation between children's total play and their well-being and involvement. There were also significant correlations between all types of play and children's well-being and involvement, except between constructive play and well-being. Non-play was significantly and negatively associated with well-being and involvement. Overall, children spent more time (30%) in constructive play than other types of play. They were engaged in functional play 23% of the time and symbolic play 12% of the time. Almost a third of the activities during the free play sessions were non-play. While there were little differences in total amount of time spent in play activities between indoor and outdoor settings, there were differences in types of play. Children engaged in more functional play outdoors, and more constructive and symbolic play indoors. Additionally, non-play activities were somewhat higher (4%) in the outdoor environment
The overall results of this study show that when children were not engaged in play (which was about a third of the time), they were less likely to experience well-being or involvement. These results raise some questions and concerns relating to the affordances of indoor and outdoor environments. Affordances refer to features of the physical environment which afford different actions and behaviors. Affordances are unique to each individual. Children actualize affordances through play and exploration. What are the factors, then, that influence play and non-play among children? What environmental and social factors can inspire and afford children to play? Reflections offered by the researchers suggest that changes in the culture, daily routines, and organization of the early childhood institutions, as well as in the knowledge, perception, and attitudes of early childhood education practitioners, may be necessary to encourage children to actualize the affordances available to them in both indoor and outdoor environments. Previous research indicates that – especially for outdoor environments -- more invitations or opportunities to engage in rough-and-tumble play and risky play may support actualization of various affordances. Such changes could promote more active engagement in play and make an important contribution to children's well-being and involvement.
Research Partner