'Oh no, the stick keeps falling!’: An analytical framework of young children’s interactions during free play in a woodland setting

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Author
Ellis, Ceryl
Beauchamp, Gary
Sarwar, Sana
Tyrie, Jacky
Adams, Dylan
Dumitrescu, Sandra
Haughton, Chantelle
Date
2020-01-31Acceptance date
2020-11-07
Type
Article
Publisher
Sage
ISSN
1476-718X
1741-2927 (electronic)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
It is widely accepted that play and ‘free play’ in particular, is beneficial to young children’s holistic development. However, there is a lack of evidence of the role that the natural environment can have in relation to young children’s play. This study examined the elements of ‘free play’ of children aged 4–5 years within a woodland university campus setting. The children chose to wear camera glasses which recorded both the gaze and speech of the individual. This provided a valuable insight into the ‘free play’ of the children and provided a rich data set to enable the development of an analytical framework which maps out the interactions which took place during the ‘free play’ within the woodland environment. Results showed that the children engaged in six key interactions including interactions with the natural environment as part of their play, including the use of sticks, leaves and branches as tools and props ‘as is’ (i.e. in its current form) and ‘as if’ (in conjunction with children’s imaginations). The framework highlights key aspects of their play which tended to be autonomous, child led and imaginary. Recommendations for future research include the use of the framework in alternative environments to explore the impact of different physical environments on the interactions of children within their ‘free play’.
Journal/conference proceeding
Journal of Early Childhood Research;
Citation
Ellis, C., Beauchamp, G., Sarwar, S., Tyrie, J., Adams, D., Dumitrescu, S., and Haughton, C. ‘Oh no, the stick keeps falling!’: An analytical framework of young children’s interactions during free play in a woodland setting. Journal of Early Childhood Research. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1476718X20983861
Description
Article published in Journal of Early Childhood available open access at https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1476718X20983861
Collections
- Education Research [256]
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