Toddlers’ play in ECEC institutions from a gender perspective

The purpose was to investigate how girls and boys aged 33 months handle play activities in kindergarten.  This handling was viewed from a gender perspective. The study’s research questions are: (1) what characterises play activities in 33-month-old girls and boys? (2) are there any differences between how girls and boys handle play activities?

The results show that there are significant gender differences in favour of the girls in terms of mastery in play activities. The girls do better in the categories: trying out games, remaining in games, taking turns when playing, participation in construction games, activity in fantasy play, participation in hiding games, and getting carried away in fantasy play. No gender differences were found in the categories: solitary play, parallel play, participation in rule-based play, complicated construction games or independence in rule-based play.

The study is part of a larger research project and uses authentic data from the ALLIN study. Each child was independently assessed in an informal situation in their own kindergarten over a period of 3 months by two employees who know the child. Participants in the study were 509 girls and 534 boys aged 33 months. These children attended 86 different kindergartens, 61 publicly run and 25 privately run. The data from the study are reviewed using statistical analysis.

Meland, A. T., Kaltvedt, E. & Reikerås, E. (2019). "Toddlers’ play in ECEC institutions from a gender perspective". European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 27(2):241-256.