Environmental influences on independent collaborative play

Data from two qualitative research projects indicated a relationship between the type of early childhood setting and children's independent collaborative play. The first research project involved 22 three and four-year-old children in a daylong setting and 47 children four-year-old children in a sessional kindergarten. The second project involved 14 parent educators and 31 children in an Auckland Playcentre. There was substantially greater complexity of the play, and more mixed gender independent collaborative play in the daylong centre than in the kindergarten, and independent collaborative play was largely absent in the Playcentre. Three factors appeared to explain the differences in the nature and frequency of the independent collaborative play. These were the physical environment, the educator's pedagogy, and the nature of the relationships within the setting. The paper discusses these factors and suggests some implications for early childhood educators.