Running head: RISKY PLAY The Benefits of Risky Play and Adult Influence in Children’s Risky Play by Laura Anne Orestes Bachelor of Arts, University of Winnipeg, 2007 Bachelor of Education, University of Manitoba, 2010 A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION In the Area of Early Childhood Education Department of Curriculum and Instruction © Laura Anne Orestes, 2015 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This Project may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. RISKY PLAY ii Dedication Thank you to my family for allowing me to disappear for hours, days, and weeks at a time to focus on my studies. Thank you to all of you who listened to me talk endlessly about my project and mini-project. I would never have been able to complete this project without your patience, love, and support. Thank you to my instructors in this program who took the time to listen to me, get to know me, and who supported me throughout the past two years. RISKY PLAY iii Supervisory Committee Dr. Chris Filler (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) Dr. Michelle Tannock (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) Abstract This project examines the many benefits of risky play for children’s development and also looks at how adults’ beliefs and values influence children’s opportunity to take risks in their play. This project will answer two questions: "How is risky play beneficial to children's development?" and "How do adults' attitudes affect children's opportunities for risky play?" In our society, risk is generally seen as something that is negative and should be avoided, but in this project a literature review is conducted and a series of professional development workshops is developed to help staff working in early learning centres reframe their beliefs about risk. The review of the literature examines what risky play is, the types of risky play, the benefits of risky play, the drawbacks of not engaging in risky play, what makes some children more likely to take risks in their play, what types of environments provide for risky play, and the characteristics of appropriate outdoor play spaces for children. Several studies discussing how important individual and cultural attitudes and beliefs about risky play are in allowing children to take risks in their play will also be discussed. The influence of values and beliefs on teaching practice, how to go about making changes in teaching practices, and what elements make professional development more effective will also be examined. If child care centre staff see risk as something that contributes to children’s development in a positive way, they will be more likely to encourage and support children to take risks and challenges in their play. RISKY PLAY iv Table of Contents Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 My Motivation ..........................................................................................................................1 Practical Problem......................................................................................................................4 Disconnect Between Theory and Practice ...............................................................................5 My Plan ....................................................................................................................................7 My Project ................................................................................................................................8 Chapter Summary .....................................................................................................................9 Coming Up .............................................................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................11 Values and Beliefs .................................................................................................................11 Perception of Risk as Negative ..............................................................................................12 Benefits of Taking Risks in Play ...........................................................................................13 Rough and Tumble Play ........................................................................................................14 Differences in Risk Taking ....................................................................................................17 Negatives of Not Taking Risks ..............................................................................................20 Parental Fears and Risk Deficit Disorder ..............................................................................21 Creating Their Own Challenges ............................................................................................23 Environments That Support Children’s Risk Taking ............................................................24 Playworkers ...........................................................................................................................27 Playground Hazards and the Need for Safety Standards .......................................................28 Children’s Preferences for Outdoor Environments ...............................................................30 Environments and Adults Influences Children’s Risky Play Options ...................................36 Adults’ Influence on Children’s Risk Taking .......................................................................37 What Children Consider ‘Risky’ ............................................................................................38 Six Categories of Risky Play and Characteristics that Make Play ‘Risky’ ............................39 Various Beliefs about Risky Play and Children’s Risk Taking Opportunities .....................41 Relevant Regulations in Manitoba ........................................................................................43 RISKY PLAY v Individual and Cultural Differences Relating to Children’s Risk Taking .............................44 Adult Involvement and Interactions Are Critical ..................................................................48 Educators Need to See the Value of Risk Taking in Children’s Play ...................................52 Adults’ Beliefs and Values and the Impact on Risky Play ....................................................54 Teacher Change .....................................................................................................................55 Influence of Practicum Training and Mentors .......................................................................58 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................................60 Coming Up .............................................................................................................................62 Chapter 3: Project Design and Details ..........................................................................................63 Characteristics of Effective Professional Development ........................................................63 Risk Reframing ....................................................................................................................64 Slowing Down the Thinking Process .....................................................................................66 Bringing Staff Together ..........................................................................................................67 Project Rationale.....................................................................................................................67 Potential Limitations .............................................................................................................70 Workshop Benefits ................................................................................................................73 Workshop Specifics ...............................................................................................................74 Session #1 ..................................................................................................................76 Session #2 ..................................................................................................................79 Session #3 ..................................................................................................................84 Session #4 ..................................................................................................................85 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................................87 Coming Up .............................................................................................................................88 Chapter 4: Final Reflection ...........................................................................................................89 Reflecting on My Learning over the Past Two Years ...........................................................89 Aha Moments along the Way ............................................................................................91 Some of My Questions Answered .........................................................................................94 Now What? .............................................................................................................................95 Three Recommendations for Other Educators Interested in Engaging with the Topic of Risky Play ........................................................................................................................................97 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................................98 References .....................................................................................................................................99 RISKY PLAY vi Appendix A – Image of the Child ...............................................................................................112 Appendix B – PowerPoint Presentation for Workshop Series ....................................................113 RISKY PLAY vii List of Figures Figure 1. Factors associated with children’s risk taking. This figure illustrates all of the elements that influence children’s risk taking ..............................................................................................18 RISKY PLAY 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Who am I? I am a student and a teacher. I have been studying for a very long time. If I added up the years, it would equate to most of my life. Currently, I am teaching Early Childhood Education to College students in a two-year diploma program in the same program I graduated from years ago. In my heart, I am an Early Childhood Educator (ECE), but I am also a certified K-12 teacher and I recently completed my Certificate in Adult Education (CAE). I have worked with children from 1-18 years. Most of my practical experience is with children ages 1-5. My Motivation When I first started working at a preschool centre with children ages one to five, I had just graduated from College. I had spent two years discussing theories and learning that my job was to help children be more independent and autonomous. I was excited to try out what I had just learned. Very quickly I started to notice that what I wanted to do and my expectations for the children were different than those of the other staff at the centre. The other staff would frequently tell me that the children were not allowed to do something, they were too young for that, that is too dangerous, or that is not how we do it here. I wanted to give children freedom and let them try different things, but I felt like the other staff thought I did not know what I was doing, or thought that I was young or irresponsible. I will admit I was new to the child care field, but I also truly believed in what I was trying to let the children do. It was instinctual and I thought it was the best thing for the children. My coworkers did not allow the children to drive the riding toys or tricycles quickly, they did not allow the children to pretend they were superheroes, they did not allow the children to engage in rough-and-tumble play (R & T), they did not allow the children to climb up on the RISKY PLAY 2 picnic tables and jump off, and they did not allow the children to run down the hill when we were walking back to the centre. There were a lot of rules. To my coworkers, the idea of risk was negative; something that should be avoided. Unfortunately, they are not alone in their thinking. Our society in general has negative views of risk and risk taking, especially when it comes to children (Unger, 2009; Malone, 2007; Copeland et al., 2012a; Bundy et al., 2009; Karsten, 2005; Finch, 2012; Niehues et al., 2013; Eager & Little, 2011). I remember one summer after all of the children had gone home I was asked to stay late with another staff to dig out a tree because the children had been trying to climb it. Our director said it was not safe. We spent hours and hours digging it out; it was exhausting. The next day, some of the children looked so sad when they arrived in the morning and the tree was gone, but by the afternoon they had found a replacement for climbing; they had moved on to the fence. My director had years of experience and I trusted her judgment, but it did not feel right to me. When the children quickly found another way to climb, I started to think that maybe climbing was something they needed to do. If I knew then what I know now, I never would have agreed to take out the tree and I would have advocated to have more challenges for the children in our play yard. Deb Curtis is an author and educator who has worked with children and teachers for 35 years and is currently working with toddlers again (Redleaf Press, n.d.). She believes in high quality care and education, creating inspiring environments for young children, and reflective practice and is considered an expert on early childhood education by those in the field of early learning and care (Redleaf Press, n.d.). Curtis (2010) explained “because all of us wanted to keep the children safe, usually the most fearful teachers ended up persuading us that we should enforce the rules” (p. 52). The staff were always talking about keeping the children safe and RISKY PLAY 3 avoiding anything where a child could possibly get hurt. It is likely that what Curtis (2010) described is what happened to me at my centre. The staff at my centre, and by extension I, had so many rules for these young children. I did not believe it was my job to say no to everything the children wanted to do and to constantly have to redirect them to something quieter or less physical, even when we were outside. That is not what I thought early childhood education was about and that was not why I went to school to become an early childhood educator (ECE). I often felt torn because some of what the children wanted to do were things that I used to do when I was a child. It was very confusing why something that was a natural part of my childhood was suddenly inappropriate or extremely dangerous for these children. One of my reasons for selecting the topic of risky play was so that I would know what to say to these coworkers, or others like them. I wanted to see what the research said and if it backed up what I truly believed was the right thing to do. I wanted to have enough knowledge to be convincing and; hopefully, persuade others to let children take more risks in their play. I believe this project will help me do that. I feel like I let these children down because I was not strong enough to fight for what I thought was right and because I did not know enough to make a convincing argument to my coworkers. I do not want that to happen again. This project will help me obtain the knowledge I need to help others see the benefits of risk taking in children’s play and the negatives of discouraging risky play. This project will help me encourage adults to let children take more risks in their play, or at least get them thinking about letting children take more risks in their play.