Early Childhood Education: Sociology Research Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography analyzes two research articles focusing on risky play in early childhood education. The first article, by McFarland and Laird (2018), explores the attitudes and practices of parents and educators regarding children's outdoor risky play, highlighting the importance of supporting motor skills, free exploration, and risk assessment. The second article, by Little, Shirley, and Gibson (2011), investigates the influence of play context and adult attitudes on children's physical risk-taking, emphasizing the role of educators and parents in providing opportunities for risky play while also acknowledging the challenges related to safety concerns and regulatory factors. Both articles provide valuable insights into the benefits of risky play for child development, including the development of decision-making skills, coping with failure, and testing boundaries, while also highlighting the need to address potential safety concerns and the influence of adult perspectives on children's play experiences. The bibliography provides a critical analysis of the articles, including their strengths, weaknesses, and relevance to early childhood education.

RUNNING HEAD: SOCIOLOGY 0
Sociology
Research
8/16/2019

SOCIOLOGY 1
Article 1: Parent’s and Early Childhood Educators Attitudes and Practices in Relation
to children’s Outdoor Risky Play
McFarland, L., & Laird, S. (2018). Parents’ and early childhood educators’ attitudes and
practices in relation to children’s outdoor risky play. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 46(2), 159-168.
The articles examine the need to have an understanding of early childhood attitudes
among parents and educators relating to riskiness in outdoor play (McFarland & Laird, 2018).
The outdoor risky play has categories like motor skills, supporting free exploration and risk
assessment. The responsibility does not comes easy, there are child safety concerns which
leads to barriers. Children’s enjoy outdoor play but it has risks of injury. Risky play can have
favourable impact on the children like checking of limits, exploring of boundaries and taking
of decisions about risks and damage. The risking of activities comprises climbing, skipping,
balancing, hanging up and down and sliding. This play gives a sense of enthusiasm and
aspiration to overcome anxiety and sense of ‘out of control’ among children. Therefore, there
are several benefits of risky play like psychological and health wellbeing which are neglected
by watching television and spending being indoor.
The article examines the situation of risky play children’s shall learn the concept of
success and failure and how to cope up with both the situations (Beate, Hansenr , & Ole ,
2016). They learn to look for different ways to succeed. It gives them a sense of pride and
achievement. There are two most important elements which play a huge role in a child’s life.
One is ECE settings i.e. it is an environment which gives opportunities and extend
capabilities of a child in many ways and other is home environment. Therefore, household
environment provides an essential part in the growth of a child.

SOCIOLOGY 2
Article 2: The influence of play context and adult attitudes on young children’s physical
risk-taking during outdoor play
Little, H., Shirley , W., & Frances , G. (2011). The influence of play context and adult
attitudes on young children's physical risk‐taking during outdoor play. European
Early Childhood Education Research Journal , 19(1), 113-131.
The article covers the discussion by Rooijen, Gerty and Shirley whereby they have
examined the child practioner and mothers believes it as a necessary for a child’s
development and growth physically and mentally (Rooijen, Gerty , & Shirley , 2019). It
focuses on the risk taking capacity of children. It includes challenges, limits and boundaries.
It helps them in coping with injury risk. Therefore, in general, children appeared to be
acutely conscious of their own level of skills and ability. This was sort to aim at testing their
own boundaries and displaying their physical abilities. The favourite regions were the
prevalent characteristics of bicycles swing and zoom slide.
The article examines are some of the hazardous issues also like cause of injury,
hazardous physical components where kids might fall and isolate their play or kids might
disappear or get lost (Little, Shirley , & Frances , 2011). With many kids appearing in some
kind of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings, it’s been asserted that the
facilities play a crucial part in offering facilitative surroundings where kids securely play the
kinds of hazards which allow expanding their present capacities. The parental attitudes play a
crucial part in the physical activity involvement of children. Therefore, parental issues for the
safety of their kids affect their choices to deter or even deter their kids from taking part in
specific sports or physical operations. Teachers also have role in the development of
children’s they are concerned about children risk-taking behaviour, citing responsibility and
fear of legal actions.

SOCIOLOGY 3
In a nutshell, it is evident from the article that a child’s involvement in dangerous play
depends on various aspects comprising a child’s motivation and willingness for unsafe play
practices, adult views and internal related variables such as the monitoring setting in which
the play takes place.
Bibliography

SOCIOLOGY 4
Beate, E., Hansenr , S., & Ole , J. (2016). We don't allow children to climb trees": how a
focus on safety affects. Norwegian children's play in early-childhood education and
care settings.
Little, H., Shirley , W., & Frances , G. (2011). The influence of play context and adult
attitudes on young children's physical risk‐taking during outdoor play. European
Early Childhood Education Research Journal , 19(1), 113-131.
McFarland, L., & Laird, S. (2018). Parents’ and early childhood educators’ attitudes and
practices in relation to children’s outdoor risky play. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 46(2), 159-168.
Rooijen, M. V., Gerty , L.-M., & Shirley , W. (2019). Professional attitudes towards
children’s risk-taking in play: insights into influencing factors in Dutch contexts.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning , 1-17.