Patterns of observed child participation and proximity to a small group including teachers in Swedish preschool free play

The study investigates patterns of child participation and their proximity to a small group of children and adults during free play in Swedish kindergartens. The researchers used Child Observation in Preschool (COP) to observe participation among groups of 3-5 year olds in free play, and analysed characteristics of different participation patterns.

The study identified eight distinct clusters of children’s participation patterns in free play. Children with high participation were more independent, while children with low participation, especially multilingual children, had higher proximity to adults and lower involvement in pretend play and associative interactions. Multilingual children and children from kindergartens with many multilingual children showed lower participation and required more adapted support to increase participation. The physical proximity and support of kindergarten staff was crucial for promoting participation, especially for children with linguistic and social challenges.

The study used an adapted version of COP for systematic observations of children in free play. Each child was observed and encoded repeatedly during an entire day of kindergarten, where observed variables included children’s participation in pretend play, collaborative and associative interactions, and their proximity to a small group of children and adults. Data were collected from 453 children aged 3-5 years from 56 different Swedish kindergartens.

Åström, F. & Almqvist, L. (2022). Patterns of observed child participation and proximity to a small group including teachers in Swedish preschool free play. Frontiers in Education. 7:982837. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2022.982837