Ready, set, go! A qualitative study into children’s engagement in and experiences of risky play in their school’s playground

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to answer the following research question: How do children engage in and experience risky play in the BuurtLAB/Ravottuh playgrounds in Hoogvliet and Crooswijk? The three sub questions of this thesis were answered using a qualitative mixed-methods approach. Firstly, observations and thin mapping was done to analyse the physical and social environment of the playground and how children played here. These observations and maps were then supplemented with the children’s lived experiences. Children voiced their experiences by creating a mental map of their playground and then participating in a semi-structured interview. The outcomes of all these methods were then combined. The results indicated that the physical environment the children play in determines to a large extent the types of risky play the children can engage with. This engagement with risky play was found to be either encouraged by the Ravottuh supervisors while it was discouraged by their school’s teachers and parents. Children were able to regulate their risks and thereby enjoy risky play practices, although each child had created their own approach to doing so.