engleski

Early Childhood Education teachers’ attitudes towards risky play as developed through teacher education and impeded by safety procedures. A report from Croatia

Existing research indicates that risky play plays a significant role in children’s learning and development. Children’s access to risky play is, however, culturally and institutionally mediated. The cultural values associated with a good childhood and the values and attitudes of people who are ‘in charge’ of children’s activities have a significant role in the creation of institutional conditions for the activities. In this paper, we report on the attitudes of Croatian Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers towards various examples of risky play and their declared frequency of allowing it in their own work settings. A statistically significant difference is revealed between the ECE teachers’ educational degree and their attitudes towards risky play. The discussion section indicates that teacher education shapes attitudes, but it does not shape the ability to take action in respect of institutional limitations, particularly where these are reinforced by an array of safety procedures.

Children ; early childhood ; kindergarten ; play ; risk ; teachers

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