Education Commons^™

Playing For High Stakes: Findings From The Irish Neighbourhood Play Research Project And Their Implications For Education, Doireann O'Connor, M Mccormack, P Maclaughlin, J Angus, V O'Rourke

Dee O'Connor

The Irish Neighbourhood Play Research Project included almost 1700 families and 240 communities throughout Ireland. The findings hold clear implications for educational policy and practice. Using surveys, interviews and naturalistic observation, data was secured on how children in modern Ireland aged 0 - 15 are playing. An all-island approach was taken incorporating cities, towns and rural areas across a variety of socio-economic groupings. Interesting findings arose from the data relating to generational differences in levels of freedom, play, exercise, engagement with risk, with nature, with scheduled/timetabled extracurricular activities, with homework, with electronics, with creative activities and with traditional play types …