Dangerous activities within an invisible playground: a study of emergent male football play and teachers’ perspectives of outdoor free play in the early years of primary school

Jarvis, Pam

doi:10.1080/09669760701516918

Cited by 22 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Recent studies have identified variations in what -and whose -choices are allowed (Ryan 2005) and in the types of play that are restricted, such as rough and tumble and 'aggressive' play (Jarvis 2007a(Jarvis , 2007b. Practitioners may also fear the 'dark side' of play, which is associated with subversion, disorder and transgression of social rules (Henricks 2010(Henricks , 2011Sutton-Smith 1997).…”

Section: Children's Perspectives and Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free choice and free play in early childhood education: troubling the discourse

Wood

2013

International Journal of Early Years Education

154

110

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This article troubles the established discourse of free choice and free play in early childhood education, and develops post-structural approaches to theorising children's agency in the context of institutional and relational power structures. It is widely accepted that planning a curriculum based on children's needs, interests and patterns of learning promotes agency, self-regulation and control. However, contemporary research extends this discourse through critical examination of child-centred and developmental perspectives, and by theorising children's agency as a means of enacting power relationships in play. Using naturalistic, interpretive methods for documenting children's choices of play activities, this small-scale study focuses on 10 children in an Early Years Foundation Stage setting in England. Combining contemporary sociocultural and post-structural theories, the findings indicate that children's choices are situated within shifting power structures and relationships, involving conflict, negotiation, resistance and subversion. These activities create opportunities for exercising and affirming group and individual agency. The study raises critical questions about how children make and manage their choices, and examines the implications for policy and practice in light of restrictive curriculum frameworks.

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Section: Children's Perspectives and Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free choice and free play in early childhood education: troubling the discourse

Wood

2013

International Journal of Early Years Education

154

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One rater had a PhD in early intervention and 20 years' experience working with young children; the second rater was a graduate student in child development who had 7 years' experience working with young children. The master coders were familiar with the literature on rough and tumble play, and used the definition found in the literature (vigorous behaviours such as wrestling, grappling, kicking, tumbling and play fighting which appear aggressive except for the playful framework (Flanders et al, 2009;Jarvis, 2007;Pellegrini, 1989Pellegrini, , 1995Pellegrini & Smith, 1998;Romano et al, 2005). Master codes reported 37% observed aggression for the child in video 1 and 17% observed aggression for the child in video 2.…”

Section: Master Codesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rough and tumble play refers to vigorous behaviours, such as wrestling, grappling, kicking, tumbling and play fighting, which appears aggressive except for the playful framework (Flanders, Leo, Paquette, Phil, & Seguin, 2009;Jarvis, 2007;Pellegrini, 1989Pellegrini, , 1995Pellegrini & Smith, 1998;Romano, Tremblay, Boulerice, & Swisher, 2005). Although this type of play has been found to be positive for physical, social and cognitive development (Jarvis, 2007;Paquette, Carbonneau, Dubeau, Bigras, & Tremblay, 2003;Smith, Smees, & Pellegrini, 2004), it is often erroneously misinterpreted as aggression (Flanders et al, 2009). In fact, even in the research literature rough and tumble play has been confused and combined with aggression when the two behaviours are defined (Smith et al, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over time these responses may negatively impact children's social competence and lead to problematic behaviours. When rough and tumble play is perceived as aggression, preschool teachers may intervene and stop the play (Jarvis, 2007), and deny children the opportunity to practice these skills. For these reasons, it is imperative that caregivers have a strong background in child development in order to make these important distinctions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preschool teachers' perceptions of rough and tumble play vs. aggression in preschool-aged boys

DiCarlo

Baumgartner

Ota

et al. 2014

Early Child Development and Care

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Rough and tumble play has been found to be positive for physical, social and cognitive development; it is often erroneously misinterpreted as aggression and generally stopped by preschool teachers. The current study sought to examine the relationship between teacher training and education and judgements about aggression in children. Ninety-four preschool teachers currently working in child care centres viewed two videotapes depicting preschool-aged boys engaged in naturally occurring outdoor play. Participants scored the tapes for occurrence of aggression, using their own definition. Results indicated that child care providers with a four-year college degree in early childhood education reported less aggressive behaviours than those without a college degree. Novice child care providers reported higher levels of aggression than more experienced preschool teachers; child care providers with similar education/experience were more likely to report aggression within the same observation segment. These findings suggest that education may support more accurate assessments of aggressive play.

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“…Safety issues on the playground include misuse of equipment, playing rough with each other, venturing into unauthorized or unsupervised areas, and other behaviors that may contribute to students' physical injury and are often related to inadequate supervision on the playground (Hendricks 1993;Jarvis 2007). Bullying is also a concern at recess, as studies have identified unsupervised areas of recess and class transitions as hot spots for peer victimization (Vaillancourt et al 2010).…”

Section: Yard Supervisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective Yard Supervision: from Needs Assessment to Customized Training

Sharkey

Hunnicutt

Mayworm

et al. 2014

Contemp School Psychol

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Most educational scholars agree that appropriate supervision of children is critical for positive youth development. Supervision is especially important during situations where children have a large degree of freedom and unstructured interaction, such as during recess. Despite the apparent importance of supervision of children at recess, there is little published research on the training of yard supervisors. The goal of the present study was to conduct a needs assessment and develop a customized training for yard supervisors at a public elementary school in an effort to help yard supervisors respond more effectively to student conflicts and promote a positive school climate. Needs assessment data used to inform the yard supervisor training were gathered through two methods: (a) playground observations of yard supervisor and student behavior and (b) yard supervisor interviews and student focus groups. Results of the needs assessment, and a description of the yard supervisor training developed from these findings, are presented, with particular emphasis placed on the implications of the study for practicing school psychologists.

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Dangerous activities within an invisible playground: a study of emergent male football play and teachers’ perspectives of outdoor free play in the early years of primary school

Cited by 22 publications

References 11 publications

Free choice and free play in early childhood education: troubling the discourse

Free choice and free play in early childhood education: troubling the discourse

Preschool teachers' perceptions of rough and tumble play vs. aggression in preschool-aged boys

Effective Yard Supervision: from Needs Assessment to Customized Training

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