Play and Development PDF

Play & Development Alba Madrid Cagigal (PhD Student) [email protected] Overview How does pretend Introduction to Play in Applied play affect children’s pretend play Set...

Play & Development Alba Madrid Cagigal (PhD Student) [email protected] Overview How does pretend Introduction to Play in Applied play affect children’s pretend play Settings development? What is Play? It is the spontaneous expression of thought and feeling (Froebel) Play is sometimes described as a “non-serious” variant of functional behaviour. Playful behaviours are typically more exaggerated than their functional counterparts, and the components of functional behavioral routines are often re-arranged in play (Burghardt, 2005). Pretend, symbolic or imaginative play Issue to define play  What is Play? ✓ Freely Chosen ✓ Pleasurable ✓ Intrinsically Motivated ✓ Actively Engaged ✓ Non-Literal See Gray (2017) & Miller (2017)  -Teamwork Developmental Trajectory -Play -Co-operate toward same Together goal -Play side-by- -No common side goal -Observes 4-6 -Mimic one others another 3-4 years -Plays -Engages in Alone conversations years -Uninterested 21/2-31/2 Cooperative in others years -Not engaged 2-21/2 Associative Play with others -Random 2 years Parallel Play movements years Play Onlooker Birth Play Solitary Play Unoccupied Play Parten (1932)  Culture Variability in Play Across Cultures Lin et al. (2019) – Asian v Euro-American Children Asian Children engage in less play Chessa et al. (2013) – American V Italian Children US children showed more imagination Italian children showed more affect Farver et al. (2000) – American V Korean Children American children acted out themes of danger Korean children acted out themes of family roles How are play themes from other cultures similar or different from your own experiences?  Gender By age 2, gender related preference in play patterns are apparent (Zosuls & Ruble, 2018). Children play in ways that reflect stereotypical masculine and feminine norms Boys’ play tends to be more unstructured and peer lead, girls play is more structured and adult-oriented (Wolhwend, 2011) Boys engage in more exercise/rough-and-tumble play than girls (Pelligrini, 2011; Lew-Levy et al., 2019) Clear difference in toy interests & types of play between girls and boys (Tas, 2018; Wong & Yeung, 2019) Thematic differences in imaginary play (Chapman et al. 2015)  Parents Cote & Bornstein (2009) children’s exploratory play directly influenced by mother’s demonstrations and solicitations Nielsen and Christie (2008) found that adults modelling of pretend play increased pretend play in children aged 27 – 41 months Parents promotion of play may differ depending on the gender of the child (John et al., 2013; Menashe- Grinberg et al., 2017; Dinkel & Snyder, 2020)  Play & Development Parental Bonds: Milteer et al. (2012) - Playful interactions help parents and children become physically and emotionally close Wallace et al. (2018) – Increases in parent-child play are associated with more positive Parent-Child relationships Milteer & Ginsburg (2011) – propose that less-verbal children are able to express themselves through play, allowing their parents an opportunity to better understand their needs Peer Bonds: Play & Development From a very young age, children use play to establish and maintain social relationships with peers (Hurtwitz, 2003). o Howes and Phillipsen (1998) children’s social play during the toddler years predicted increased prosocial behaviour and decreased social withdrawal o Children who engaged in more same-sex pretend play were better liked by peers and were viewed by teachers as being socially competent.(Colwell & Lindsey, 2005). o Physical play correlated with ability to “read” facial expressions (Lebuda & Glavenua, 2019).  Play & Development Emotional Understanding/Regulation: Play helps children learn self-regulation skills (Dunn & Hughes, 2011; Rao et al., 2019) Social pretend play permits young children to successfully work through fears and other emotional issues (Lindsey & Colwell, 2013; Richard et al., 2021). In a pretend play intervention study for hospitalized children, Rae et al. found a reduction of hospital fears in the play group.  Play & Development Language Development: Through play activities children add to the vocabulary, syntax and conversational formulas that they know. (Tomopoulos et al., 2006) – toys that elicit symbolic play (e.g., toy telephone, tea set) and provide opportunities to practice fine motor skills (e.g. puzzles) support children’s early language skills (Laakso et al., 1999) – social interactional skills were associated more strongly with language production, and symbolic play competence more strongly with language comprehension. (Moedt & Holmes, 2018) – Purposeful play group showed significant improvements in reading comprehension & language  Play & Development Creativity: Chou & Yang (2017) argue that more playful children are also the most creative. Pretend play is associated with increased divergent thinking and creative storytelling (Hoffmann & Russ, 2012; Wallace & Russ, 2015) O’Connor et al. (2017) – Observed play of children in 1688 Irish families and argued that play is an important platform for creative development  Play & Development Problem Solving & Academic Learning: Fantasy/ Pretend play appears to play an important role in academic learning Farmer-Dougan & Kasuba (1999) – children with poor pretend play skills are more disruptive in class Uren & Stagnitti (2009) - pretend play linked to greater ability to engage in positive classroom behaviour  Conclusions Play is a notoriously, ‘fuzzy’ concept, lacking clear definition and extension Play appears to follow a certain developmental trajectory There are cultural & gender differences associated with play, with parents also influencing play activities. Play is purposedly linked to positive child development  Applied Relevance of Play Importance of play is advocated in many domains: MEDIA ADVERTISING EDUCATION CURICULA PARENTING STYLES UN HIGH COMMISSIONS  Play as an evolutionary skill Burghardt et al (2015) - argues that play has a role in developing complex skills necessary for survival and reproduction Palagi et al (2015) – animals use play as a way of learning strategies of social interaction. Hill et al (2017) – Dolphins play behaviours are linked to their foraging skills. Hol et al. (1999) – Rats deprived of rough- tumble play show long term behavioural deficits and are socially incompetent as adults.  Theoretical Propositions Three theoretical propositions explaining the potential relationship between play and positive development (Smith, 2010) 1) Crucial (Vygotsky, 1978) 2) Equifinality 3) Epiphenomenon (Piaget, 1962)  Vygotsky (1978) Play has a crucial role in development Pretend play is the activity setting where children first understand that actions can be separated from reality “In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a magnifying glass, play contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form; in play it is as though the child were trying to jump above the level of his normal behavior” - Lev Vygotsky (1967, 16).  Piaget (1962) Play reflects development Sensorimotor – Piaget described sensorimotor practice play where infants experiment with bodily sensation and motor movements. Symbolic – Children carry out action plans, take on roles, and transform objects as they express their ideas and feelings about the social world. Games with Rules – Play is characterised by rules and competition.  Smith (2010) Play is only one promoter of development Equifinality: A new Perspective. Play has a causal effect on development, but is only one of many activities that do so. Lillard et al., 2013 …Is Play Important for Positive Development? Documented Cognitive, Social, Emotional and Physical Benefits Dansky & Silverman V Sylva, Bruner & Genova Let’s critically examine the evidence... Setting the Scene with Play… Before we begin let’s try an experiment... You can use a PAPER CLIP in lots of different ways. I would like you to tell me all of the things that you could do with it or use it for? Write down your answers on a piece of paper.  Dansky & Silverman Used the Alternate-Uses Test in 90 (4-6 year old) children. Experimental conditions: 1) Play with materials (PLAY) 2) Observe & Imitate experimenter using the materials (IMITATION) 3) Draw with Crayons (CONTROL) Results: Play increased unique responses No difference between imitation and control groups  Sylva, Bruner & Genova To explore the connection between play and problem-solving in 180 children (3-5 years) Experimental set-up Experimental Conditions: 1. Play with Materials 2. Observation of Solution 3. Control/ No Treatment Results: Play Group performed better than Control Group Observation Group did just as well at solving the problem as Play Group  1. How was Play Defined? Variance Across Play Types Reviews suggest that different forms of play may promote specific aspects of development. Whitebeard et al. (2017): - Physical play is linked to motor development - Block play is linked to improvements in spatial processing/ mental rotation Dankiv et al. (2020): - Outdoor play is linked to imagination skills Schrier & Farber (2021): - Empathy development is linked to participation in role playing games 2. What Developmental Domain was Assessed? Differences between Developmental Domains Tong et al. (2020) systematic review found evidence that unstructured play was related to physical health, but did not appear to impact to social wellbeing. Bochicchio et al. (2018) systematic review suggested digital play was both good and bad for children.  3. Quality of the Research? 1. Over reliance on correlational evidence 2. Characteristics of children included in research 3. Role of confounding/moderating variables Support for Theoretical Perspectives? Domain/Sub-Domain Causal Equifinality Epiphenomenon Creativity No No Best Supported Intelligence No No Best Supported Problem Solving No No No Reasoning No Yes Possible Conservation No No Best Supported Theory of Mind No Possible Best Supported Social Skills No Possible Possible Language Likely Possible Possible Narrative Possible Possible Less Likely Executive Function Not Likely Not Clear Not Clear Emotion Regulation Possible Not Clear Not Clear See Review by Lillard et al.  Conclusions Three main theoretical approaches for understanding the relationship between play and development Appears to be a ‘pro-play’ bias or ‘play-ethos’ BUT methodological limitations make it difficult to critically assess this relationship The relationship between play and development may differ depending on the aspect of play and type of outcome being assessed