The intersection of toys and play categories for young children

Abstract

he constructivist orientation conceptualizes children’s play as a process through which children actively learn and express their knowledge of the world by engaging with objects and people. The objects are usually toys as children spend vast amounts of time playing with them. Developmental research has determined that as children grow, the complexity of their play increases. These perspectives suggest that children’s knowledge and their developmental level influence what they do with toys. Conversely, the behavioral perspective suggests that toys themselves, and the stimuli provided by toys, influence children’s play. These conflicting viewpoints indicate a need for research exploring how children play with toys. The present study sought to investigate the intersection of how young children use different types of toys to express their knowledge, as measured by qualitatively different categories of play. The investigation used data from the Project Play research, which conducted naturalistic play observations through administration of the Developmental Play Assessment (DPA; Lifter, 2000). Play activities from the sample of 289 typically developing children (8 to 60 months old) were analyzed. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to determine, controlling for age, whether there was an impact of DPA toy type (manipulative and social-conventional) and play categories (11 DPA categories) on how children play with toys. Post hoc analyses explored main effects and interactions. ANCOVA results detected an interaction between toy type and play category when controlling for age. Post hoc results supported both the behavioral and social-constructivist perspectives. ANOVA analyses by age group further specified some results followed developmental trajectories in children’s play. Findings have implications for how school psychology research conceptualizes children’s play with toys, as well as the selection of toys for assessments and interventions for young children.