Excerpt from :
A Multicultural Perspective on Play and Learning
in Primary School
Ole Fredrik Lillemyr • Frode Søbstad •
Kurt Marder • Terri Flowerday
Published online: 29 January 2011
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
Abstract In the school’s conception of learning, the cultural aspect of children’s
play has often been lacking. In different countries, it is emphasized that play is
important for learning (Dockett and Fleer, Play and pedagogy in early childhood:
Bending the rules. Harcourt Brace & Comp, Sydney, 1999; Lillemyr, Nordisk
Pedagogik/Nordic Educational Research 22:38–52, 2002; Wood and Attfield, Play,
learning and the early childhood curriculum, 2nd ed. Paul Chapman, London, 2005).
Recent research has focused on social aspects and friendship as fundamental elements
in learning activities. A sense of relatedness to culture is strongly linked to
aspects of self-determination, respect, and sense of competence. The socio-cultural
theory perspective is of special relevance in this concern, as presented in the theories
of Vygotsky and Deci & Ryan (Deci and Ryan, In: Efficacy, agency, and selfesteem.
Plenum Press, New York/London, 31–49, 1995; Vygotsky, Thought and
language. The M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, 1986), as this perspective is essential in
promoting motivation for all students, irrespective of background. In a cross-cultural
research study of student groups in Australia, USA ,and Norway; the intention
was to identify cultural profiles among student groups on their interests in play,
learning preference, self-concept and motivational orientation, applying scales, and
Article based upon a paper presented at EECERA Annual Conference in Stavanger, Norway, September,
2008.
O. F. Lillemyr (&) F. Søbstad
Queen Maud’s University College of Early Childhood Education, Trondheim, Norway
e-mail: ofl@dmmh.no
K. Marder
University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
T. Flowerday
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
123
IJEC (2011) 43:43–65
DOI 10.1007/s13158-010-0021-7
interviews. Similarities and differences were documented among Aboriginal, Navajo,
and Sa´mi students, compared with non-indigenous (majority) students, in interest in
free vs. directed play and learning, aspects of self-concept, and motivation. A tendency
of indigenous students to favor a traditional, teacher-directed concept of
learning was found, compared to non-Indigenous students. Furthermore, indigenous
students had a significantly lower self-concept, compared to non-indigenous students
(presented elsewhere, Lillemyr et al., Students’ relatedness—a neglected aspect of
motivation and learning? AARE International Conference in Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, 2009). In Norway, teachers of indigenous students used play to a lesser
degree than teachers of majority students. Teachers in Arizona and Australia seldom
used play in the classroom. Our research indicates friendship and sense of competence
are important for students’ motivation to participate and achieve in school, partly
confirming results from other research studies. The authors found a sense of relatedness
to be quintessential in this concern. Educational consequences for play and
learning in multicultural early years’ education are suggested.
Keywords Interest of play Interest of learning Self-concept Sense of
relatedness
Introduction: A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Play and Learning
Theory and research have increasingly argued that
social aspects such as friendship
and sense of relatedness are fundamental in the development of cultural identity and
learning (Ladd 2007). For these reasons, the socio-cultural theory perspective is
particularly relevant in this research, as presented variously by Vygotsky (1986) and
Deci and Ryan (2000). Play is considered an important arena for children in any
culture (Huizinga 1955) and a crucial component in children’s varied aspects of
development (Singer et al. 2006). Nonetheless, the sources of play from real-life
experiences will depend on cultural characteristics. In order for social learning to take
place,
social motivation is often needed to acquire intrinsic motivation. Play is an
essential component in the socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky (1986) who argued that
play is a vital element contributing to language development and conceptual meaning.
In play situations, children stretch out to the proximal zone of development (ZpD)
through the guidance of peers, or when guided by the educator. What a child is capable
of doing with help from the teacher or a more experienced peer, has often been termed
scaffolding (Berk and Winsler 1995). Through experiences in play, the child acquires
social and cognitive capabilities important for learning, and will also develop a sense
of relatedness. It is assumed that all individuals have a need for feelings of belonging
to a group or culture, defined as a sense of relatedness (Deci and Ryan 1995). The
authors think this need is well established through children’s play, as it also should be
in school learning. The point is that a strong sense of relatedness contributes to a
strong intrinsic motivation in play and learning.
However, in relation to Vygotsky’s theory, it is emphasized that the tools,
interventions, and language of one culture may be significantly different from
another, and so education must situate learning within the appropriate social and
cultural contexts (Salomon and Perkins 1989). For example, among indigenous
people, oral stories and tradition have a stronger meaning than among nonindigenous
people (McInerney 2006). Emphasizing children’s play, as relevant both
for its own sake and for its relation to learning, as in a socio-cultural theory, means
that the challenges of integrating indigenous and non-indigenous students in a
majority education system have to be extensively problematized.
In play, children
take control and participate deliberately. In some cultures, observing and listening
when participating in activities are part of that culture’s tradition (Nystad 2003;
Rogoff et al. 2003). In this sense, human development can be seen as a cultural
process, with consequences for play and learning (Rogoff 2003).
A Broad Perspective on Learning
The relevance of play to learning and development has also been claimed by others
(Bateson 2000; Levy 1978). The recent research literature has argued that children’s
play can promote learning (Brock et al. 2009; Singer et al. 2006). These
perspectives are of relevance for early childhood education and care institutions
(ECECs) when attempting to provide quality learning environments. Moreover,
motivation and learning are interrelated not the least through the social aspects,
especially in play (Lillemyr 2007; Rogers and Evans 2008). Since learning is central
46 O. F. Lillemyr et al.
123
to ECECs as well as primary schools, a broad perspective of learning seems
reasonable, not the least in addressing the concept of life-long learning (Lillemyr
et al. 2001; Wood and Attfield 2005). In Norway, reforms and changes in Acts and
frameworks for ECECs and schools in recent years have addressed these trends
(Ministry of Education and Research, 2006a, b). From one point of view, the
reforms in Norway can be considered to be focusing on motivation, primarily
because of the emphasis on children’s play (Lillemyr 2002). The same tendencies
attempting to include play to ensure children’s engagement can be seen in countries
such as Great Britain, Australia, and Sweden (Bennett et al. 1997; Dockett and Fleer
1999; Samuelsson and Carlsson 2003).
Based on research, it seems reasonable to assume that there would be a
close
relationship between children’s interests in play and their interests in learning, and
that these are closely related to self-concept and motivation (Lillemyr 2001).
However, social aspects such as sense of relatedness often are neglected aspects of
motivation and learning, even within socio-cultural perspectives (Reeve et al. 2004).
For young children, social learning concerns relationships with friends and the
extent to which they feel competent and related, as stated by Wentzel (1996, p 1):
The social worlds of children are pervasive and influential part of their lives at
school. Each day in class, children work to maintain and establish
interpersonal relationships, they strive to develop social identities and a sense
of belongingness, they observe and model social skills and standards of
performance displayed by others, and they are rewarded for behaving in ways
that are valued by teachers and peers.
The socio-cultural perspective of play and learning is important in all cultures, as
children in all cultures seem to play. There is a system of mediating knowledge and
skills from one generation to the next, although cultural differences can be found
(Salili and Hoosain 2007; Samuelsson and Fleer 2008). However, it is a well-known
fact that attitudes toward school learning vary considerably between cultural groups.
In Brooker’s interesting ethnographic investigation (Brooker 2002), the focus was
directed on learning experiences in a small group of children in reception classes
(4 year olds). It was found that children gradually adapt to school learning and
develop learning cultures, and it was documented that the home and school learning
environments are linked. Brooker focused on how social and cognitive gains define
children’s success as ‘‘pupils’ or ‘‘learners.’’ Providing all children with optimal
chances to achieve was found to be a challenge. Ethnicity was a factor of
importance in her study although from a general, multicultural point of view rather
than an indigenous aspect. Brooker discusses the importance of inviting children to
participate in class, as this will be repaid in many ways. Even though Brooker’s
research focuses on younger children than those in the present research study, it
illustrates the complexity of researching learning in school in relation to quality.
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