The relationship between indoor environments and children’s play – confined spaces and materials

The study investigates how the indoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens, including different rooms/spaces and materials, affects children’s free play. The study focuses on free play, where children can decide what they want to do, where they want to be, and with whom they want to interact. The aim is to provide insights that can improve the design of kindergarten environments to support children’s play and development.

The results show that kindergarten environments facilitate specific types of play in defined rooms/spaces. Constructive play was most commonly observed at tables involving building materials and art materials. Symbolic play most often took place in smaller, enclosed spaces with access to dress-up clothes and specific toys. Functional play was most common in rooms designed for physical activity and tumbling areas but was the least observed overall. The study highlights that the design of the kindergarten often steers play in a predictable way, which may limit children’s opportunities to bring their own initiatives and creativity into the play.

The data collection consisted of systematic and randomised video observations of children during free play indoors. A total of 86 children (3-6 years) were observed in two-minute sequences, with a total of 943 video recordings. The types of toys, rooms/spaces and materials were encoded sequence by sequence.

Sandseter, E. B. H., Storli, R., & Sando, O. J. (2022). The relationship between indoor environments and children’s play – confined spaces and materials. Education 3-13, 50(5), 551–563.