Microcultures of competitive outdoor games are linked to social connection for Canadian children This Canadian study asked the question, “How may competitive outdoor play shape children’s development of microcultures?” Microcultures refers to smaller peer communities with rules and roles that operate outside of children’s traditional, day-to-day activities. The rationale for studying children’s microcultures was to offer researchers a perspective on how children employ creative strategies to build worlds, engage in role and conflict negotiation with peers, and establish social hierarchies.
This study was conducted at a Canadian summer day camp. The researchers conducted unstructured interviews with 13 children (age 9-13) during or after free play time at the camp. They also conducted naturalistic observations to note children’s feelings, behaviors, and discussions over eight hours of free play time, particularly as they transitioned into or out of competitive play. Field notes included children’s use of play equipment, access to and interactions with play spaces, and communications with each other. They conducted thematic analysis of interview and observation data, including analysis guided by previous studies of competitive play and tenets of microculture development.
The article organized findings by three themes: (1) organization of rules and roles for competition, (2) time with friends, (3) gender inclusiveness. First, the children played several competitive games—such as Tag, Octopus, Grounders, and Man Hunter—where rules of competition largely dictated participants’ social organization and roles. Following rules minimized social conflicts and provided clear grounds to compete with peers physically and mentally, which children found fun. Second, the competitive cultures of children’s play were oriented toward time with friends—not other peers. Children’s choice of activity largely centered on doing what their friends were doing, and friendships also provided encouragement and support to participate in competitive play and sometimes take risks or engage in physical challenges in the context of a game. Third, the first author noted that gender-based groupings were more pronounced in non-competitive play communities than in competitive play communities. That is, in non-competitive play activities, boys largely played with boys and girls largely played with girls. In contrast, children’s groupings in competitive outdoor games were organized around rules of competition, pre-established game roles, and physical equipment—which allowed boys and girls to play together on more equal terms. Thus, competitive outdoor play was more gender inclusive in this study.
This study’s findings indicated that children in this summer camp developed microcultures during competition through their pretend play with others and through the world-building associated with that pretending. Often in contrast to everyday play, children could engage in risky play in competitive microcultures and test their physical and mental skills in ways they found fun. Children’s competitive microcultures were governed by, and supportive of social connections with friends, which also encouraged conflict negotiation skills, pro-social behaviors with peers, and social emotional learning. To some extent, competitive microcultures were linked to systems of evaluation and judgement which disrupted traditional gendered hierarchies. At the same time, the authors acknowledge the need for more research on gender differences in children’s outdoor play.
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