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Ag súgradh: an analysis of children's play experience in after-school settings in Ireland
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Date
2017
Authors
Cummins, Annie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Play is an essential component of middle childhood and therefore, should be considered a core factor for developing quality school-age childcare. However centre-based after-school services remain underdeveloped, undervalued and unregulated in the Republic of Ireland. This research is the first qualitatively driven analysis of children's unstructured play experience in centre based after-school settings in the Republic of Ireland and aims to evaluate children's play cultures within these settings. This thesis rejects the notion that children's play cultures arise from peer interaction alone and posits a multi-causal explanation for children's play performances. Building on Henricks' fields of relationship model, this thesis will show that children's play cultures are influenced by changing constructs of childhood, dominant ideologies about play, inter-generational power structures, available play equipment, potential play partners and personal abilities and preferences.
Since the emergence of the New Sociology of Childhood in the 1990s, ethnography has been the preferred method of research as it 'allows children a more direct voice and participation in the production of sociological data'. Using a qualitatively driven mixed-method approach, this research focuses on three different types of after-school providers in
the East Cork region: community after school, privately owned after-school and a privately owned creche. A combination of observations, interviews, focus groups, artwork and animation was used to collect the data, as it was the best way of cater to the variety of abilities and ages attending these settings. At the core of the methodology is children's own perspective of their experience, rather than an adult's interpretation of their play activities.
Description
Keywords
After-school services , Middle childhood , Children's play performances
Citation
Cummins McNamara, A. 2017. Ag súgradh: an analysis of children's play experience in after-school settings in Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.