Free play in the kindergarten class: Children’s voices through photo-narration and drawing-telling techniques

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Published: Dec 1, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/icw.30024
Keywords:
Play Children’ voices Mosaic Approach Photo-narration Drawing-telling
Georgia Topi
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Maria Papandreou
Τ.Ε.Π.Α.Ε, Α.Π.Θ
Abstract

Drawing on participatory pedagogical and research approaches that acknowledge young learners as competent actors and expert informants, value their views on and aspirations for the curriculum and the pedagogical process, the present study investigated Kindergarten children’s understandings of play within their classroom environment during free-choice activities. Adopting the Mosaic approach, research methods such as drawing-telling and photo-narration were implemented. The results showed that focusing on specific characteristics, children express a clear view of play in the kindergarten. Personal interests and objects that are of particular value to them, positive emotions and interactions with peers seem to guide their play choices. At the same time, the results uncover children’s contradictory responses related to adults’ involvement in their play, their interesting views on learning-play links and factors that inhibit their play along with their insightful suggestions for improving the play environment. The discussion sought to make a synthesis of the different aspects of the participants’ play experience, and in the light of participatory approaches we make suggestions to renegotiate play and teachers’ role in the context of early childhood education.

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