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Children's Rough-and-Tumble Play in a Supportive Early Childhood Education and Care Environment

Rune Storli1

  • 1Department of Physical Education and Health, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, 7044 Trondheim, Norway.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|October 13, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Rough-and-tumble play (R&T) is crucial for children's development but challenging in early childhood education. Indoor spaces supporting active play are preferred by 3-5 year olds for R&T, with gender differences observed.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Play Studies

Background:

  • Rough-and-tumble play (R&T) offers significant developmental benefits for young children.
  • Implementing and supporting R&T is a persistent challenge within early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings.
  • Understanding the environmental and social factors influencing R&T is crucial for effective pedagogical practices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the occurrence and characteristics of R&T in indoor and outdoor ECEC environments.
  • To explore children's (aged 3-5 years) perceptions of indoor versus outdoor spaces for R&T.
  • To identify gender-based differences in R&T engagement and environmental use.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 100 randomly recorded two-minute video observations of children's play.
  • Second-by-second coding of videos to identify and categorize R&T behaviors.
  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis informed by interactional affordances theory.

Main Results:

  • Children aged 3-5 years found indoor spaces conducive to physically active play more appealing for R&T than outdoor environments.
  • Significant gender differences were observed in R&T participation and the ways boys and girls utilized physical spaces.
  • Successful engagement in R&T involves the practice of perceptual, motor, and social skills.

Conclusions:

  • Supportive indoor environments can enhance opportunities for R&T in ECEC settings.
  • Recognizing and addressing gender differences in play is essential for inclusive pedagogical approaches.
  • Knowledge of children's R&T skill acquisition can inform educators in creating safer, more stimulating play environments.

Keywords:
early childhood educationinteractional affordancesphysical active playrough-and-tumble play

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