Browsing by Subject "lapsen näkökulma"

Aims. Play is a central part of the day in the day care centers especially as a peer group activity of children. According to the Core Curriculum (2016) adults must support children’s play also by participating in it. Very little is still known about adult-child joint play in the day care centers especially from children’s perspective. The aim of this study is to expand this knowledge by interviewing children. This study examines the ways joint play between children and adults is constructed in children’s stories and the ways participation in the play is defined. Methods. This qualitative study used a narrative approach to examine children’s perspectives. 27 children (11 girls and 14 boys) aged 4 to 6 participated in the interviews in the beginning of 2019. A thematic analysis was applied and a concept of small stories was used as an analytical tool. Results and conclusions. Joint play between adults and children in small stories was constructed especially by voluntary participation. Joint play was constructed through active engagement and commitment. Adults and children were connected in joint play when the themes of play were based on everyday life whereas themes from the media distanced adults from the play. Play was also constructed by sharing knowledge and taking roles. Adults then took for example roles that were undesirable to children. Seems that the ability of adults to take part in the joint play was limited. Other duties of adults and day care center rules restricted possibilities to participate in joint play. In one story children were took into account the conditions when it was possible to play with an adult in the day care center. Participation in play was determined through ownership of the play and also through individual characteristics. Knowledge, skills as well as physical qualities and capabilities defined participation in play. In one story the close relationship between the adult and child made it possible for the adult to participate in play.