Children's play in peer cultures: Icelandic preschool children's views on play, rules in play, and the role of educators in their play

• Main Author: Ólafsdóttir, Sara Margrét
• Other Authors: Jóhanna EInarsdóttir, Susan Danby, Faculty of Education and Pedagogy (UI), Deild kennslu- og menntunarfræði (HÍ), School of education (UI), Menntavísindasvið (HÍ), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iceland, School of Education, Faculty of Education and Pedagogy 2019
• Subjects: Doktorsritgerðir; Leikskólabörn; Viðhorf; Leikur; Hlutverkaleikir; Barnamenning; Ísland; Reykjavík; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/2529

Children’s play in preschools is a complicated phenomenon studied extensively from different perspectives and paradigms. This study draws on the work of William Corsaro, to develop a study that used the sociology of childhood perspective, with particular focus on understanding children’s knowledge and experiences. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of how children explain their activities in their preschool settings, how they experience rules in their play activities, and how they see the role of educators in their play. The purpose is to better understand children’s play by seeking their views on their participation in peer cultures. This thesis reports on a multiple-case study inspired by ethnographic approaches. The study was conducted with two groups of children in two preschools in Reykjavík, Iceland, with children aged 3-6. Video-recordings from the ethnographic approach were used to support children’s conversations about their participation in the preschool activities. These conversations were captured through video-simulated accounts. The main findings indicate that most children explained that their preferred activities were those in which they could take on various roles and make decisions about how to use the material as play. The children’s explanations are related to how make-believe play has been defined. In other words, the children described themselves as playing when they created an imaginary situation, took on roles, and followed the rules relevant for the play. The children used different strategies to challenge adult-initiated rules, which often were related to who could play, and who could not, in the activity. The children’s status and power in their peer culture influenced how they saw the educator’s role in their play. They agreed that the educators seldom took part in their play; their role was often to be close to the children, observe and react when the children needed help or when something went wrong. A major implication of the study is a better understanding of ...