Observing children's play during a unique time in history
Dr Kate Cowan’s work with the Play Observatory is revealing much about how children’s resilience, connectivity and adaptability comes from playing. In this special interview, ahead of her keynote presentation at next week’s Play 2021 conference, Kate talks about how she came to see playing as less about learning and more about children making meaning and finding agency in their lives –and how crucial this is for them during such uncertain times.
Kate, please tell us about how you came to be interested in researching children’s play?
My background is in early years teaching and I’ve always been fascinated in how children communicate through play, especially the ways they communicate beyond language. As a teacher I would see fascinating playful moments everywhere every day, but my PhD really helped me to slow down and look more closely at the complex processes happening in play by using multimodal video analysis. I’ve built on this research in various ways since, including looking at children’s digital play, at how teachers document children’s playful learning, and at children’s contemporary playground games.
How have your perspectives on play changed over the course of your research?
Coming from a background in education, my initial interest was around play’s relationship to learning and how adults can support learning through play. Over the years, I have tried to better understand the intrinsic worth of play to children themselves alongside this educational focus. This has involved moving from looking at play in classrooms to play in spaces like playgrounds, museums and homes. I still see the value in making teaching and learning playful, but I now try to talk about ‘play as meaning-making’ rather than ‘learning through play’ to reflect children’s agency and ownership of free play.
Please tell us about the Play Observatory.
The Play Observatory is a research collaboration between UCL and the University of Sheffield documenting children’s play and expressive cultures since the start of COVID-19. We know that the pandemic has had a huge impact on what, where, when, how and with whom children have been able to play, so the Play Observatory is trying to understand what play has looked like during this unique time in history and create a record for future generations. We take inspiration from the folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, who created an incredible archive of children’s games and lore in the UK from the 1950s to the 1980s. We’re carrying out an online survey and case studies that will form a searchable online collection and an online exhibition developed with the V&A Museum of Childhood, as well as tools for supporting play developed with Great Ormond Street Hospital. The survey is still live and welcomes descriptions, drawings, sound recordings and video clips showing children’s playful activities throughout 2020-2021. We’re particularly keen to hear from children and young people themselves, and hope adults will support this and add their own observations too.
What has your research with the Play Observatory revealed about how the pandemic restrictions have affected children and their play lives?
The research is still ongoing, but we are seeing ways in which the pandemic has featured as a theme in some children’s play throughout the past year. For example, making masks for Barbie dolls, imagining Harry Potter spells and potions to cure the virus and dressing up in pretend PPE. We have also seen some play adapting to restrictions, for instance chasing games using elbows to ‘tag’ other players and playing ‘shadow tag’ to avoid touching. We’re also hearing lots of examples of digital technology supporting play with people children haven’t been able to see in person, including playing online games like Minecraft with friends and games like bingo with grandparents via Zoom. We’re also seeing many examples of ‘traditional’ play carrying on throughout the pandemic, and in some cases families having more time to play and take up new hobbies together.
How do you think practitioners in different fields should be adapting their practice in the light of these findings?
The emerging Play Observatory findings highlight the power of play in times of uncertainty, including ways children make sense of change, exercise agency, escape or distract themselves from the here-and-now and form connections with others, despite being separated by distance. Carefully tuning into play can help us understand children’s experiences of this unique time and illustrate the importance it has in their lives. Amidst talk of children’s ‘lost learning’ and the need to ‘catch up’, the findings illustrate the creativity and resilience that play supports and adds to the call for a Summer of Play in which children are given more time, space and permission to play as part of the recovery from the pandemic, and beyond.
Dr Cowan was interviewed by Adrian Voce
Dr. Kate Cowan is a Senior Research Fellow at UCL Institute of Education. Her research explores children's play and communication from a multimodal perspective, including aspects such as literacy, creativity and digital technologies. She is currently working on the project 'A National Observatory of Children's Play Experiences During Covid-19' funded by the ESRC. Kate has a background in early years teaching and she remains committed to connecting research and practice. In addition to academic publication in books and papers, Kate has written for teachers, students and the general public.
Dr Cowan will give the keynote address at Play 2021, a virtual conference on children, play and space on 7-8 July. Click on the logo below for links to the full programme and how to register.
