Child's play is serious business

Child's play is serious business

Size matters, blocks are boys' business and "play" is a word reserved for when teacher is around.

These are some of the findings of an award-winning thesis completed by Dr Susan Danby through the University of Queensland's Graduate School of Education. Dr Danby video-taped then closely analysed interactions between pre-schoolers (aged three to five-years-old) at an inner-city childcare centre over two years.

"At first glance, much about these children's world seems unordered and even chaotic but on closer examination, there is a sophisticated social order present as young children competently use talk and action to shape their social worlds of gender and power," Dr Danby said.

Cited as bringing a new perspective to early childhood education, the thesis recently won Dr Danby both the Australian Early Childhood Association Telstra Doctoral Thesis Award for 1999 and the Australian Association for Research in Education prize. Her thesis found the childcare centre's block area was definitely male domain with intricate power plays taking place between boys for control of the space.

"Threats of violence were used against younger boys by groups of older boys such as ?I'll throw you through the window' or ?We'll get the police' to show the younger boys the type of talk that was often used in the block area," she said.

"A ritual of masculinity took place everyday with masters and apprentices showing the younger boys how to act and talk as a masculine member of the block area. The younger boys were eventually recruited into the group and the cycle started again with new boys.

"The only times girls got to play in the area unfettered was when the teacher was present or at pack-up time when the boys would come and remind them to pack up faster if they looked like they were having too much fun. Otherwise they ran the risk of having blocks ?mysteriously' dropped on their heads or their creations ?accidentally' knocked down."

Dr Danby said physical size mattered for the children with smaller children being challenged by older, taller children. The older boys often addressed size and age as important criteria for entry to a play area. She said a big area of difference between boys and girls had been in the ways they comforted an upset child.

"When the teacher was present, both boys and girls would follow the established routine of hugging and comforting the child but as soon as teacher went away, the boys would often re-interpret events along the lines of ?but I was only joking.'
The girls on the other hand would continue the caring role with them walking closely with the hurt child not touching them but remaining close by her side," Dr Danby said.

She said the children had an organised language system with some words such as "play" only used around adults and teachers or to talk down to younger children.

For more information, contact Dr Susan Danby (telephone 07 3864 3547 at work, 07 3274 2181 at home or mobile 0417 758 417).