Talking over children’s drawings about their favourite play times: how do children describe their play?


Buldu E., Buldu M.

Early Child Development and Care, vol.193, no.6, pp.810-823, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 193 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/03004430.2023.2166501
  • Journal Name: Early Child Development and Care
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.810-823
  • Keywords: Early childhood, drawings, play, children's perspective, playful learning
  • TED University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study investigated how children describe their play activities and associate learning with play. Accordingly, 23 early childhood children from different cities and age groups were included in this phenomenological research study. Incorporating images of children’s drawings of their favourite playtime and semi-structured interviews, three main themes were developed: types of play, play for feeling, and play for learning. The findings revealed that none of the children mentioned that their favourite play activity took place in school; however, almost all of them believed that they could learn while playing. Moreover, children who prefer digital games (watching videos and playing games) are not aware of what they are learning from the activity. These findings support the need to promote learning through play in schools. Additionally, the role of adults and their awareness regarding digital games must be taken into account.