The Study on Children’s Play at Church

• Main Authors: Chow-li Chan, 鄭兆利
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/67249605917470375872

碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 幼兒教育學系碩士班 === 99 === This research is to investigate how to activate the children’s interactive play at church and further learn the content and characteristics of children’s interactive play at church. The study was conducted at a church with a four-year history in the South. The participants invited were four children, from the age of 3 to 5. Naturalistic observations on the children’s interactive play at church were taken for 28 times. Transcriptions from videotapes, audiotapes and anecdotal notes plus field reflection were the sources for data analysis. Findings indicated that children’s interactive play at the church is initiated by verbal and nonverbal modes. When expressing play message with body language, it needs mutual understandings of the play in order to initiate the play interaction. The participants would adapt direct methods to activate the play with the new comer, but the new comer would try various ways to join the play group. Interactive plays at church are categorized as physical play, linguistic play with a sense of humor, cooperative play and pretend play. Peer interactive play is mostly positive play interaction, such as sharing play ideas, leading the play, inviting others to join the play, trying to maintain the play, comforting partners and solving the conflicts. Only one child displayed disconnected play behavior because of being alone. Destructive behaviors occur only when the participants need the partner’s toy, fighting back to other party or their ideas being rejected by the older children. The characteristics of play at church indicate children proceed chase play at limited or specified locations and define play space with objects or imagination. Also, children’s toy bringing from home and the materials from the church are the play props. If necessary, they used air and gesture as the substituted objects. Another characteristic is mixed-age play. When the older children are rejected by the younger ones from joining the younger-aged play, they would change the strategy in order for entry into the younger group play. The younger children would interact with the older ones by following, cooperating with or watching to join the play. When the parents intervene, they also offer advice and discipline for other children. At the same time, prosocial behaviors in children’s play correspond with the faith doctrines emphasized at the church. The doctrines reinforced the exhibitions of the prosocial behavior in children’s play. Lastly, the play at the church shifts at a high frequency.