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- Bergin, Michelle
(författare)
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Playing along (with)in the hard yard? Play, practices, and occupational justice in Irish schoolyards
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis aims to generate knowledges on practice possibilities concerned with children’s play and occupational justice in Irish schoolyards. Navigating the intersections between theory and practice required an ongoing examination of the tensions and points of resonance between ideas, ideals, and practices. Drawing on critical occupational perspectives, four distinct yet interrelated studies contribute to the thesis aim, exploring play, particularly the play of children with minoritized identities, as an issue of occupational justice from diverse perspectives. Minoritized draws attention to the active social processes that create inequitable opportunities for children because of their identities relative to gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, sexuality, and disability.In Study I, a scoping review using the Joanna Briggs institute methodology, showed a paucity of existing research on the play of Irish Traveller children, an ethnic minoritized community. Using an existing conceptual model to categorise reported influencing factors emphasized the distinct restricting factor of racism on Irish Traveller children’s play. To address the problematization of at-risk representations of Irish Traveller children, as reflective of culturist assumptions, greater attention to children’s own diverse constructions of play as a capability is proposed.Study II completed virtual and walking interviews with ten primary school teachers to explore their practices and experiences of particularly children with minoritized identities play in Irish schoolyards. The reflexive thematic analysis highlighted how prevailing norms interrelated with the locus of risks of exclusion to children’s individual choices and how teachers’ while valuing play, prioritised safety and an absence of conflict. Knowledges constructed on teachers and children negotiating individual and collective interests within diverse occupations in relationships (with)in the schoolyard, resonated with conceptualisations of collective occupations as constitutive with the production of the social space.Study III used individual and group walking interview methods to explore with 23 children their play in two Irish primary schools, identified as disadvantaged. Using the lens of the theory of practice architectures, the analysis highlighted children’s contrasting representations of play as habitual and emerging situated relational processes. Children’s acceptance of social hierarchies, individualistic and exclusionary social practices within schoolyards generated insights into the consequences of significant constraints and normative ideas on children’s play. Play was thus interrelated with the reproduction of what was termed the “hard yard”. However, the transformative potential of play was also suggested in how shared play created possibilities for fun, solidarity, and friendship.Study IV drawing on earlier studies, engaged six occupational therapists from diverse sites of practice in a critical action research inquiry to interrogate existing practices and generate practice possibilities focused on play and occupational justice in Irish schoolyards. Putting the theory of practice architectures to use again, the analysis drew attention to how habitual practices interrelated with constraints including circumscribed professional identities, service expectations and cultural norms to (re)produce practice possibilities, in tension with occupational justice ideals. Furthermore, the research process using dialogical focus group and occupational mapping methods provided a mechanism for raising consciousness that (re)mattered occupations and occupational justice.In conclusion, this thesis contributes nuanced understandings of play as socially situated practices interrelated with significant constraints and diverse social practices (with)in the particularities of Irish schoolyards. The ways in which inequities were (re)produced in habitual, individualistic, and exclusionary practices within schoolyards, and relationships of solidarity and fun were created within shared play supports understandings of the centrality of occupations to (in)justice. The insights generated problematized inclusive practices drawing attention to normative discourses, the individualising of choices, the neglect of substantive issues, such as racism and the significance of vulnerabilities and friendships. This thesis suggests practice possibilities that extend beyond play as an individual concern to consider ethical responsibilities to raise consciousness on the relational nature of collective practices with(in) shared spaces. Furthermore, in connecting (with) theorizing on occupation as collective, the theory of practice architectures and mechanisms of raising consciousness this thesis contributes to understandings of praxis.
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| 3. |
- Loudoun, Fiona M.
(författare)
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Play Occupations in Digital Spaces: Children’s Experiences Throughout Childhood
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Play is enshrined as a right for all children and is characterised by its autotelic and intrinsic nature. As such, play is recognised as the primary occupation of children and best understood in terms of the multiple meanings it holds for individuals. The spaces in which children choose to play are considered to facilitate and limit opportunities and experiences for play reflecting a dynamic and complex interconnection between individuals, spaces, and occupations. Despite the exponential growth of gaming technologies and digital devices offering children spaces for a plethora of novel, captivating and diverse play experiences, there remains a limited understanding of how these spaces afford or constrain play, especially from the perspective of the main protagonist, the child. Exploring children’s perspectives of their play in such digital spaces can uncover the multifaceted dimensions highlighting the purposeful and meaningful nature of such occupations in children’s everyday life. Such understanding challenge current social discourses and support how such play experiences contribute to children’s wellbeing and active participation in society. The overall aim of this thesis was to generate a deeper understanding of children’s perceptions of their play occupations in digital spaces throughout the trajectory of childhood. This thesis was informed by four, qualitative research studies. Study I, a scoping review, aimed to identify and map the current literature examining children’s perspectives of play in digital spaces by exploring how the daily relevance, personal and ecological significance, and methods were approached in the research. The review identified thirty-one articles from the past fifteen years with data extracted inspired by theories of play, ecology, and occupation. The review highlighted a significant lack of empirical research focusing specifically on children’s autotelic play and which demonstrated a relevance to their everyday life. Additionally, we found that methods did not consistently involve the active participation of children. The findings from this review provided a clear rationale for the design of the subsequent three studies.Choice making reflects a key aspect of how children experience their play, therefore, study II explored children’s experiences of their choice making in play within digital spaces. Eight participants were recruited who were aged between 6 and 7 years old. Using a focus group design and a plethora of data generation tools, the findings indicate that children enjoyed the flexibility and variety of choices offered by their play in digital spaces yet were constrained in their possibilities for play. Further, findings highlight how children negotiate play experiences as a tension between choice making and their desire for mastery. Study III explored the play value of digital spaces, specifically how the digital space affords play from the perspective of the child. The study was conducted using focus groups and comic strips to elicit data from eight children aged 11 years old. Findings indicate that children value the endless opportunities for play that were not necessarily available to them in real world spaces. Children discussed the play value associated with continually exploring new tasks, roles, and arenas, a space to be and do together, and to develop and learn. Study IV explored and identified how the meaning of playing video games is situated in adolescents’ everyday life. The study utilised narrative methodologies to generate data from five participants aged 16 – 17 years. The findings reflect how they engage in processes negotiating and balancing between occupations in both the physical and digital space with play integrated across their everyday lives. These studies reveal the richness and depth of perspectives children hold with regard their play in digital spaces and uncovers a unique and diverse number of characteristics that contributes to our understanding of the meaning children hold of this key occupation of childhood. This thesis articulates how children consider the primacy of play in their everyday lives in their negotiations between play in physical and digital spaces and how the, often overlooked, social dimensions of such play experiences throughout the course of childhood serves to enhance their connections with others and promote a sense of belonging. Additionally, the perception of competence in their play fostered their sense of self whilst embodying other roles and identities reflect a progression towards a future self. This enhanced understanding of the play occupations in digital spaces can be used to promote, offer, and design play occupations that reflect the experiences of children themselves thus recognising how and where play in digital spaces is integrated in relation to everyday life. To further explore play occupations in digital spaces, it may be fruitful for future research to be designed with children in mind to further enhance understanding.
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