Purpose
The study investigates how access to toys and materials affect children’s play, and how kindergarten can facilitate the physical environment to stimulate children’s creative play. The research question is: How can the selection and availability of play materials in the physical kindergarten environment affect children’s play opportunities?
Result
The results show significant differences in the practices of the groups of children. Some groups of children are offered a varied selection of play materials in easily accessible play zones. Other groups have limited access to materials, in the form of empty shelves or routines that may limit children’s play opportunities. The study shows that accessible and flexible play materials, which children can move around and combine, promote more creative and inclusive play. The results show how children’s play can be promoted by adapting the kindergarten’s physical indoor environment.
Design
The study is part of the research project Good Kindergartens for Children in Norway (GoBaN) and is based on qualitative observation data from eight of a total of 205 groups of children in Norway that participated in the project. The groups consisted of between 18 and 40 children in each. Five of the groups were composed of children aged 3-5 years, one group consisted solely of 4-year-olds, while two groups involved children aged 1-5 years. The researchers observed children’s access to play materials and how it affected their play opportunities. Data were collected over three days for each group, where observations of the children’s play were logged, and the organisation and availability of materials were recorded. Analyses of the observations were combined with pictures of kindergarten rooms and equipment.
References
Nilsen, T. R., Bjørnestad, E., & Hannås, B. M. (2022). Utvalg og tilgjengelighet av lekemateriell og barns lekemuligheter i det fysiske innemiljøet i barnehagen. Nordisk barnehageforskning, 19(3).