Abstract

BENTO, MARIA GABRIELA PORTUGAL. PLAYING AND TAKING RISKS: ANALYSIS OF RISKY PLAY PERCEPTIONS IN A GROUP OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS. Rev. Bras. Educ. [online]. 2017, vol.22, n.69, pp.385-403. ISSN 1809-449X.  https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-24782017226920.

Recognizing the benefits of risky play for learning and development of children, this research aims to explore risky play perceptions in a group of 13 Portuguese early childhood teachers. This professional group was chosen due to the meaningful influence they have in the type of experiences that children come across in a stage of life where play is an important promoter of global development. Using semi structured interviews, articulated with images of risky play (Sandseter, 2007, 2009a), we tried to understand how risky play situations are interpreted and what are the main gains for children development. Our findings show that in the group of early childhood teachers interviewed risky play is hardly accepted and their evaluation is influenced by different dimensions. Although risky play is not promoted, early childhood teachers recognized benefits in these experiences.

Keywords : risk perception; play; outdoor spaces; early childhood education.

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