THEORY AS LENSES ON CHILDREN’S PLAY

CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCIPLINE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT SIGMUND FREUD CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCIPLINE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

SIGMUND FREUD All behavior is motivated, often by unconscious dynamics Freud’s theory of dreams emphasized the meaningfulness of dreams as manifestations of the unconscious mind Early childrearing experiences, especially in weaning, toilet training, and the role of the family in the handling of sexuality and aggression, are seen as significant factors in development Freud gave new hope to the treatment of psychopathology and changed social attitudes toward the neurotic and psychotic A major motivating force in human behavior is sexuality, including the idea of infantile sexuality Freud ascribes meaning to errors, forgettings, slips of the tongue, and other unintended behavior, believing that they are expressions of unconscious forces.

PSYCHOANALYTIC LENSE As children experience personality growth through id, ego, superego, play becomes vital helping resolve the pressure of biological forces and environmental conditioning Play has therapeutic use in helping children deal with inappropriate experiences

Alternative Perspective by Lili Peller (1954) Play is simply a reflection of the child dealing with reality. Through play, we experiment with the way in which we wish things could be

BATESON ON PLAY FRAMES When children play they are communicating Children engage in play frame (signaling that we are moving from reality to imagination). Imaginary is a map and reality is the terrain. Play allows children to social skills/role flexibility. Prepares them for future roles in society

CATHERINE GARVEY’S ON PLAY TALK Explored how children signaled to their playmates during play When play becomes boring or too stressful they terminate it Boys and girls engage in play, however, girls tend to use more language signals

PIAGET ON PLAY AS ASSIMILATION Interest in thought and reasoning Focus on organization and adaptation A child demonstrates knowledge thru existing schemes. These schemes are used to take in new knowledge. This is called Assimilation Because of new experiences, children are challenged to change the way they think. This is called Accommodation

Piaget’s Stages of Development Sensorimotor. Explore world thru senses. Object Permanence (grasping rattle; repeated dropping of toys) Preoperational. Symbolic play and construction represents the thoughts of children during this stage. (Building with blocks; modeling clay). Concrete. Games with rules. (Marbles, tag) Formal. Games with reasoning and logic.

LEV VYGOTSKY ON PLAY Vygotsky concerned with the origin of play/how it develops and whether play is the predominant activity of children Concluded that play is not a predominant activity during preschool years but is the leading source of development Rejected the view that play is due to pleasure expression. Instead, play is imaginary, illusory realization of unrealized behaviors. Children are internalizing rules placed by their observations. Maintains that children under 3 cannot engage in imaginary play

VYGOTSKY CONTINUED Play objects (pivots) assist children in developing imaginary play. Between ages 3-5yrs, a stick becomes a gun, a pencil becomes a plane Play is a source of development and creates the zone of proximal development (ZPD) ZPD. A range of tasks between those the child can handle independently and those at the highest level she can master thru play or with the help of adults or competent peers Thru scaffolding (degree of support given), adults can help advance children thru play

JEROME BRUNER Play facilitates development in many domains: Problem-solving, cooperative and competitive social interaction, sex roles, cultural acquisition, language, and creativity Play is an immature activity/allows children to explore and master abilities needed in the adult world Play allows for decontextualization. Experiment and make errors without consequences

Children transition through the following stages: MILDRED PARTEN Interested in genetic sociology of classroom. Explore the transition children make as they become social participants in group activities Children transition through the following stages: Uninvolved/nonsocial (age 2). No sense of play/others Onlookers. Observes but does not participate Solitary. Plays alone (ages 2-3) Parallel. Plays near others but plays alone/not sharing Associative. Plays with others, but purposes may not be similar Cooperative. Goals of play are shared and negotiated; tasks and roles relate to play’s purpose. Common goal, product, or game

PEER CULTURE AND PLAY An important role of the peer culture is the diffusion of values and norms Children often use games and chants to keep others inline or to exclude them from the group. Sometimes, adults considered outsiders. General develops during play on playgrounds and with neighborhood friends. Unsupervised play.

Group Process: Developing Theory of Play Develop at least three assumptions that guide your theory of play and development Explain your theory as it pertains to infancy and early childhood What are the strengths and weaknesses of your theory

By Heidemann and Hewitt THE BASICS OF PLAY By Heidemann and Hewitt

Play: A Singular Experience or Multiple Exploration Children may engage an object or a task and spend much time exploring and manipulating during play. Children may also engage multiple objects or tasks for the purpose of exploration and manipulation. One of the primary reasons objects are employed in play is to promote growth and development Enhancing imagination Curiosity and discovery

Play with Objects Sensorimotor Play. Children explore sensory stimulation of collecting information about their environment (Promotes competence and development). Constructive Play. Children begin to manipulate objects to create based on their developing knowledge. Dramatic Play. As children begin to develop imagination, they begin to use objects to represent mental thought processes in order to execute an experience (Representational Skills). In time, children begin to imitate the perceived behaviors and roles of others during play (Role-Playing). Games with Rules