Review article

Play in Research with Children

Tamara Pribišev Beleslin ; Faculty of Philosophy, University in Banja Luka

Abstract

At the time when there is growing importance of the participant-friendly research (Christensen & James, 2008) new dimensions are added to research in the early childhood: it is based on the rights of young children, it takes children's perspective, requires careful listening, emphasizes active participation of children and researchers, combines techniques sensitive enough to allow children to speak their languages. The shift is particularly evident in the acceptance of the equality of young children's points of view and understanding of the reality around them. That led to methodological "allowing" the research process to become contextualized in the children's world, where play has a special place. Play is now accepted as one of the many languages with which children can express, interpret and construct their experiences and meanings. Therefore, play has become a research area within which children have the right to be different, compared to the adult research participants (Punch, 2002). There is controversy regarding the involvement of adults in children's play, and "using" it for didactic and other purposes. However, findings show that adults do not necessarily disturb children's play. It can become a space for sharing between children and playful adults, within which the balance of power and hierarchy is adjusted. The empirical basis of the paper is an analysis of ten play-based focus groups, which included over fifty children who were five and six years old, a doll researcher and an adult in the role of an "assistant researcher."

Keywords

children and adults' participation; play-based focus group; research in early childhood

Hrčak ID:

117846

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/117846

Publication date:

18.2.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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