Play behavior in elementary school: an observational study

Authors

  • Sheila Tatiana Duarte Cordazzo
  • Josielly Pinheiro Westphal Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
  • Fernanda Balem Tagliari Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
  • Mauro Luís Vieira Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v14i1.14299

Keywords:

play behavior, school, child development, gender differences

Abstract

Play is a usual activity in the daily life of children and it can indicate relevant aspects of child development. Observing what children are doing during play is an important tool that can provide information for understanding the child’s world. This study aimed to identify ways of social interaction and types of play behavior exhibited by children when exposed to different types of toys in the school context. Participants comprised of eleven children aged between seven and eight years enrolled in the school network of private schools. The children were observed for three months (in a room with various sets of toys) twice a week in sessions that lasted thirty minutes. Observation techniques related to focal subject and behavior recording by time sampling were used. Each child was observed during 20 intervals of five seconds in every session. Through data analysis, it was found that children have a preference for playing in groups, segregated by sex. Moreover, the educational toy was the least used. Hypotheses to explain these data are presented and implications of playing in the school everyday are analyzed.

 

Keywords: play behavior; school; child development; gender differences.

Author Biographies

Sheila Tatiana Duarte Cordazzo

Possui graduação em Psicologia pela Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (1999), mestrado em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2003) e doutorado pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2008).

Josielly Pinheiro Westphal, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Graduanda do curso de Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.  Foi bolsista de Iniciação Científica do CNPq.

Fernanda Balem Tagliari, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Graduanda do curso de Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

Mauro Luís Vieira, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Mauro Luís Vieira. Professor do Departamento de Psicologia na Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Obteve o título de doutor em Psicologia Experimental pela Universidade de São Paulo em 1995.  Fez pós-doutorado na Dalhousie University em Halifax (Canadá) em 1999. Trabalha na linha de pesquisa sobre cuidados parentais e desenvolvimento infantil no Programa de pós- graduação em Psicologia da UFSC. Coordena o Núcleo de Pesquisa sobre Desenvolvimento Infantil. Entre as principais publicações destacam-se: Vieira, M.L, Garcia, M.P.; Rau, D.D.W. & Prado A. B. (2005). Effects of different opportunities for social interaction on the play fighting to males and females in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).  Piovanotti, M.R.A. & Vieira, M.L. (2004). Presence of the father and parental experience have differentiated effects on pup development in Mongolian gerbils. Behavioural Processes, 66: 107-117; Vieira, M.L. & Prado, A.B.P. (2004). Abordagem evolucionista sobre a relação entre filogênese e ontogênese no desenvolvimento infantil. Em: M. L. Seidl de Moura (Org.). O bebê do século XXI e a psicologia em desenvolvimento (pp.155 204). São Paulo: Casa do Psicólogo. É pesquisador 2 do CNPq e é sub-coordenador do Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicologia da UFSC. 

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Published

2010-10-25

How to Cite

Cordazzo, S. T. D., Westphal, J. P., Tagliari, F. B., & Vieira, M. L. (2010). Play behavior in elementary school: an observational study. Interação Em Psicologia, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v14i1.14299

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2010)

Section

Articles

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