Poster #159 - Children’s Play Behaviors Across Three Indigenous Communities in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

• In Event: 2-002 - Special Poster Session 05 with Continental Breakfast Reception
  In Poster Session: PS 05 - International Section

Integrative Statement

Research on children’s play has been conducted predominantly in industrialized, Western societies (Göncü, Tuermer, Jain, & Johnson, 1999). While this approach has been fruitful in demonstrating the developmental benefits of play, it does not provide a full understanding of the everyday play experiences of children in diverse contexts. By gaining insights into cultural factors that shape play, we can surface its local and universal manifestations and potential role in development (Moland, 2017). A way to better understand how culture shapes play is to investigate how children spend their time and how play features in their time budgets (Larson & Verma, 1999). As part of a larger ethnographic study in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), Colombia, this study employed a sociocultural lens to document Arhuaco, Kogi, and Wiwa children’s use of time, their everyday activities, and play behaviors in and out of school.

Living in remote settlements, indigenous communities of the SNSM have preserved their customs and traditions; however, the recent introduction of formal schooling provides a unique opportunity to study children’s play in a changing traditional society. Eighteen children (N = 18, 9 boys and 9 girls) participated in focal child observations, with six children from each of the communities. The sample included preschool children (n = 12, ages 4-7 yrs.) and children who had not yet enrolled in school (n = 6, ages 3-5). Their behaviors were recorded using spot observations every 5 minutes over 12 hours for each participant. A total of 145, 1-minute observations were recorded per child (2610 total observations across children). Spot observations were coded using a derived emic rubric (Berry, 1999), to characterize the nature of children’s behaviors and time usage.

Results showed that children engaged in a range of activities during the day, including a substantial proportion of time spent on play (see Figure 1). Social interaction and play were the most common categories and often co-occurred. Compared to other daily activities, children spent more time interacting with peers and engaged in playful activities, than engaging in work or instruction, for example. Preschool children played during 29% of all recorded observations and those not enrolled played during 42% of observations. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of all play involved social interaction, most often with other children. Play behaviors reflected a range of play types (see Figure 2), some that were predetermined based on the existing literature, such as object, physical, pretend, and games and others unique to this context, such as teasing and humor, foraging, and play with animals.

Wiwa, Kogi, and Arhuaco children’s play experiences were shaped by their interactions with the physical environment, available resources and partners for play, schooling experiences, and the autonomy they were afforded, all of which were influenced by the expectations and practices of their communities. This study elucidates how children’s play is embedded within social and cultural interactions; it contributes to the growing cross-cultural evidence of children’s play and the ways in which participation in their communities shapes these experiences.

Author

• S. Lynneth Solis, Harvard University
  Presenting Author