Assignment On Outdoor Risky Play Activities

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RISKY PLAY

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Risky play is defined the play, which provide various opportunities for challenge, testing
limits, exploring boundaries and learning about the injury risk. It refers that outdoor risky-play
activities provide the children with the opportunity to engage in a riskier experience, where they
can seek out challenges (Jelleyman, McPhee, Brussoni, Bundy, & Duncan, 2019). Both
the responsibility and threat that is experienced with outdoor learning leads the children to
become more self-confident as well as independent. Due to increasing regulations regarding the
play areas children are unable to engage in the risky play activities and therefore are unable to
gain knowledge about dangers as well as risk- taking (Kleppe, Melhuish, & Sandseter,
2017). In this essay, the literature review is done about the perception of Adults and Educators
about the risky play in the early childhood setting. In this essay gaps in the literature review is
also identified and recommendations are provided.
Helen Little conducted a study in Australia on the subject of early childhood education.
The objective of the study is to recognize the provisions of outdoor risky play in terms of the
space, resources as well as preparation for taking a risk (Little, 2017). The outdoor environment
affects the opportunities for the children, which is the promotion of educator’s as well as the
influence of regulatory environment (Maynard & Waters, 2014). The researcher used the
questionnaire method for conducting the study. The questionnaire develops by the researcher
according to the components of early year learning framework, National quality standard and the
review done on the risky play. The results show that the centers, which are participating, in the
study are all well equipped for promoting the physical play, according to the survey the
researcher analyzed that the environment of the centers supports the r risk-taking play. All the
teachers of the centers have different perceptions; the other factors also reduce the opportunities
for the risky play, which includes the regulatory limitations relating to the heights, arrangements
regarding the equipment of gross motors. The heights are considered a dangerous activity for the
children (Anasetti, et al., 2012). The researcher also identified that the centers provide
insufficient space. From the finding, the researcher suggests to provide pre- in-service training to
all the teachers to understand the management and development of hazardous outdoor play for
the children of the centers in Australia. Laura McFarland and Shelby Gull Laird conducted the
study on understanding the behavior of the teachers as well as parents of early childhood about
the outdoor dangerous play for the children (McFarland & Laird, 2018). The researcher
involved twenty-six educators from the centers of early childhood education from the rural areas

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of Australia as well as from the US. The researcher believes that for better understanding of the
perception of the parents and teachers it is important to conduct the comparative study. The
researcher takes the online survey from the parents and educators, in this study for data gathering
the researcher uses the mixed approach method. The method involves collecting, analyzing the
qualitative as well as quantitative research (Zainuddin & Halili, 2016). From the data analysis,
researcher finds that, most of the educators believe that it is considered important and children
should be provided various opportunities as well as activities for risky outdoor play. According
to the perception of educators, the categories in which these activities fell are large motor skills,
supporting the free exploration of environment, and supporting assessment of risk. The study
also shows that in the perception of the educators, which is located in the country of Australia,
the risky play is considered most significant for the children in comparison with the educators of
the US. From the survey taken from the parents, the researcher also analyzed that; according to
the parents, activities should be provided to manage the risky play. From the analysis, researcher
finds that the parents also feel nervous about the risky play for the children (Sandseter &
Kennair, 2011).
According to Helen little, Shirley Wyver and Frances Gibson many of the children
naturally search for the physically tricky play, which sometimes involves the threat of injury
(Little, Wyver, & Gibson, 2011). The study aims is to investigate the behavior of the adults in
relation with taking a risk as well as to identify the experiences of children. Researcher says that
earlier most of the studies have made effort to explain the characteristics of the risky play, but
not any of the study conducted to find the factors, affects the opportunities for the risky as well
as dangerous play. The study was conducted in the five centers of early childhood, which is
situated in different areas of Sydney. The center in which the study takes place includes the pre-
schools as well as the services of day-care which the administered by the Non-profit institutes.
For the data collection, the semi-structured interview is taken from the teachers as well as a
specific session is conducted for the parents of the children, the interview lasts for forty-five
minutes. The researcher also adopts the questionnaire method for collecting data after
completion of the session, which is related to the attitude of the teachers as well as parents
towards the risky play. In this study, the researchers find that the teachers and parents of children
believed that the risky play is considered the major aspect as well as the important factor for the
development of the children, through the investigation researcher analyzed that the centers of

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early childhood provide very limited opportunities to the children. The study revealed that
regulatory legislation is considered the major factor, which has a significant influence on the
opportunities of outdoor learning’s in the centers. However, regulatory legislation refers to the
law promulgated by an administrative agency under delegation by the government (Tovey,
2007). According to Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, now the interest of the children regarding
the attitudes of risk-taking and their safety, while playing is rising. Many of the studies are
conducted to maintain the balance between the activities of the risky play with the benefits of
taking the risk (Sandseter, 2013). The studies show it is important to research about the safety
regarding the risk-playing play and researcher believe that it is considered main as well as rising
concern to study (Haisley, Mostafa, & Loewenstein, 2008). This study is conducted in the
current years because not many of the studies have combines the practitioner behavior of the
early childhood education as well as care with the risky play, this is also considered the aim of
the study. The study was conducted in Norway; the research questions in which the study is
undertaken includes to find out the perceptions and attitudes Norwegian early childhood
education teachers have towards the children’s risk-taking activities other questions includes that
what approaches do the practitioners have concern towards the hazardous play. In this study
qualitative method is used for collecting the information; the data is collected through the
questionnaire. The questionnaire method is considered the best method to get a better
understanding regarding the attitudes of the practitioners (Fraley, Heffernan, Vicary, &
Brumbaugh, 2011). The sample size of the study was 268, in which 116 respondents response
and fill the survey. From the analysis, the research finds that teacher believes that both the boys
as well as girls participate in the activities of risky play once in a week or a month, but the boys
participate to some extent higher than that of girls. The researcher suggests that the practitioners
who all are young are more excited towards increasing the opportunities of risky play in early
childhood centers.
According to Helen Little, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter and Shirley Wyver risk-taking
in the positive term, is considered the significant factor in developing the child, therefore still
many of the valuable activities are now seems to be hazardous as well as avoided in many
educational centers (LITTLE, SANDSETER, & WYVER, 2012). The objective of the research is
to know the attitudes, beliefs of the teachers towards the children risky play in Australia as well
as Norway, and this is the comparative study to know the cultural differences among the teachers