Poster #50 - “Play is everything”: Examining Caregiver Perceptions of Play in a Children’s Museum

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

Play is typically a critical component of the informal learning environments that children’s museums seek to create (Luke et al., 2017). Though child development experts frequently espouse the value of play for learning (Singer et al., 2006), historically parents have associated learning more with structured activities (Fisher et al., 2008) and have struggled to recognize the potential for learning in playful contexts (Song et al., 2017). In a previous study, when caregivers were asked about the meaning of play in a children’s museum setting, relatively few (15%) explicitly associated play and learning (Downey et al., 2010). Given increased attention on the importance of play over the last decade (e.g., Yogman et al., 2018), has caregiver understanding of the play-learning connection increased? The aim of this study was to replicate and extend previous research to better understand caregiver beliefs about the purpose of play today.

As part of a larger study, caregivers (N=247) visiting a children’s museum in a large metropolitan area completed a survey in June and July 2022. Participants answered the open-ended question: “What do you see as the purpose of play in your children’s life?” The majority of caregivers were parents (85.8%), female (82.6%), White (77.4%), and had a college or graduate degree (83.4%). Mean caregiver age was 39.17 years (SD=9.34). Preliminary content analysis of qualitative responses yielded a variety of codes for Purpose of Play, with many caregivers mentioning multiple reasons (see Figure 1). Codes were then collapsed and categorized on a hierarchical continuum (Downey et al., 2010). The highest category, “Learning,” included all responses with an explicit mention of learning or education. Responses that referenced development or specific skills (e.g., creativity, problem-solving), but not learning, were categorized as “Skill-building.” Responses that referenced play as an opportunity for exploration without mentioning learning or skills were categorized as “Discovery.” Finally, “Enjoyment” captured responses that mentioned fun as play’s only purpose. Some caregivers’ responses could not be coded within these categories; notably, many emphasized the importance of play generally (i.e., “play is everything”) without further detail. See Table 1. Overall, 62.8% of caregivers stated learning as a purpose of play, and nearly a quarter (24.7%) exclusively responded learning without mentioning another purpose. This is a stark contrast to only 15% of caregivers who clearly associated learning and play in previous research (Downey et al., 2010).

It appears more caregivers today make a clear connection between play and learning. It is unlikely that this finding is due to a particular demographic characteristic, such as education level, given the demographic similarities between our sample and that of previous research (Downey et al., 2010). Rather, caregiver perceptions of play may be shifting, though further research among more diverse samples is needed. Additionally, there remained nearly 20% of caregivers in our sample who did not acknowledge learning or skill development as a purpose of play. It will be important to further investigate what contributes to caregiver understanding of play as a mechanism for children’s learning to further expand societal value of play.

Authors

• Shannon E Dier, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Presenting Author

• María Fernanda Rueda-Posada, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Alaina Wilson, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Rachel Thibodeau-Nielsen, University of Missouri - Columbia