Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.

This investigation studied children's attitudes toward play and their play behavior when engaged in free play on their school playground. Subproblems of this study attempted to determine if there were differences in free play on school playgrounds when considering the variables of; 1. sex, 2. grade, 3. school and 4. sex within each grade. In addition, the compatibility of the questionnaire-interview technique with the observed behavior technique was assessed. Three hundred and thirty-nine grade one, two and three children served as subjects for this study. Two techniques were utilized for data collection; 1. a questionnaire-interview, and 2. observations. The questionnaire interview assessed: children's desire to play, reasons for playing, favorite time to play, favorite spot to play, play behaviors and the type of equipment children use. The observations assessed: children's favorite spot to play and children's play behaviors. The conclusions of this study are as follows: 1. The questionnaire-interview and observation techniques can be successfully utilized to determine selected attitude and behaviors of children. 2. Children play on their school playground because there are fun things, they can socialize (children play with friends who are generally their own age) and because of pleasant feelings. 3. The school playground is mainly used during school hours. 4. Females were more likely to choose an activity because it was fun while the males chose an activity because they could use it in a game. 5. Children's choices of activities and equipment were comparable. 6. Males use the playing field more while females use the blacktop area more - often. 7. Children preferred high energy activities with medium and high energy activities increasing in preference with increases in grade. 8. The equipment area is used most often with both sexes and each of the grades making equal use of it. 9. The males and females showed preferences in play behaviors. 10. Males perform high energy activities more than females who perform medium and low energy activities more than males 11. Grades one, two and three children have different play behaviors. 12. The activities children said they preferred were actually what they were seen doing. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationships between spirituality and play. Phase 1 involved in-depth interviews with ten Christian participants who indicated relationships between their spiritual attitudes and their play experience. The exploration of the spirituality and play intersection resulted in several primary themes, or features, of play: enjoyment, freedom and creative expression, connection, transformation and meaning. Phase 2 consisted of a large-scale quantitative study designed to investigate the extent to which the sample (N = 346) reflected the features of play. The Play Experience Scale (PES), developed based on conceptual, theological and empirical research and Phase 1 data, aimed to evaluate ten primary features associated with play: freedom, enjoyment, relationships (with self, God, people, and nature), creativity, transformation and meaning. Overall frequency and enjoyment of play correlated with all the features of play, with the exception of the ‘relation to God’ feature. In exploring differences between Christian (n = 187) and non-Christian (n = 159) participants, results showed that non-Christians exhibited significantly greater frequency and enjoyment of participating in play. It was found that Christians scored significantly higher on the overall play experience score, and two features of play: relation to God and relation to nature. Further, Christian sport participants reported significantly higher levels on the PES and the features of enjoyment, relation to others, transformation and meaning, as compared to Christian sport non-participants. Factor analysis of the PES suggested three-factors: creative expression, relation to God, and transformation. Creative expression correlated most strongly with self and nature sources of spirituality; transformation correlated with human-spirituality; and relation to God correlated with theistic and transcendent spirituality. Creative expression correlated with all five categories of playful activity, relation to God negatively correlated with spontaneous and casual play, and transformation most strongly correlated with physical contests and sports. Overall, creative expression and transformation were significantly correlated with playful activity, self-determined motivation, dispositional flow and frequent sport participation. In Phase 3, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven pastors to explore how play could be integrated into church life. Pastors emphasized the capacity for play to develop and strengthen relationships, notably through pedagogical practice, intergenerational activities, and within organized community programs. Altogether, creative expression, transformation and interpersonal connections were the most prominent features of play that emerged from this mixed-methods study. Findings suggest that even though play is evident in the lives of Christians, tensions persist regarding the role of play within work-life integration. Additionally, contrasting perspectives emerged regarding spiritual maturity and relational and spiritual encounters. Future research needs to examine the utility of the PES, explore the ambiguity of spirituality and play, and engage a broader sample of participants, especially pastors. Study findings have implications for pastors, teachers and leaders wanting to incorporate play into ecclesiological and educational life through emphasizing and facilitating the creative, transformative and relational features of play.

This research study investigated various characteristics of children in play therapy and their play behaviors during sessions. Specifically, this research investigated how gender, age, ethnicity, household and presenting problem of children impacted the play therapy process. Thirty-two cases of children who received ten or more sessions of play therapy at the Child and Family Resource Clinic, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas between the years of 1998-2002 and met specified criteria were coded and entered into a computer spreadsheet for analysis. The background information provided by the parent/guardian of each child was analyzed using various measures of central tendency to summarize and describe the data sets. The session summary data completed by play therapists at the CFRC was examined using analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance. Analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistical significance between the following variables: a) males and use of dolls (.01), animals (.007) and weapons (.014), and males and expression of happy (.048), confident (.042) curious (.007) and flat (.029) during play therapy sessions; b) young children and use of vehicles (.050) during play therapy sessions; c) Caucasian children and expression of happy (.011), and confident (.008) during play therapy sessions; d) children residing in single parent households and use of hammer (.049) and puppets (.048) during play therapy sessions; and e) a variety of presenting problems and toy use/play behavior, feelings expressed and themes played out during play therapy sessions. Frequency of toy use and emotional expression were also investigated as well as session peaks of toy use, emotions expressed and themes. Analysis revealed that the toys used most often during play therapy sessions included the following categories: sandbox, easel/paints, dolls, weapons, crafts and money. Feelings expressed most often in play therapy sessions included excited, pleased, focused, interested, proud, curious, frustrated and confident. Analysis also indicated a positive shift in the overall dynamics of play therapy sessions, as reported by play therapists, during sessions 9-13.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-185).

Not applicable.

Thesis (M.S. in animal science)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 27, 2009). "Department of Animal Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-119).

Pretend play is a developmental process linked to both cognition and socioemotional functioning (e.g., Frahsek et al., 2010; Russ, 2004). The connection between pretend play and development supports the clinical utility of play as a tool for emotional and behavioral health assessment and intervention. Despite this strength, play-based measures are underutilized and often lack psychometric integrity (Shicke Athanasiou, 2000). The Affect in Play Scale (APS) and Affect in Play Scale-Preschool version (APS-P) are comparable play-based tasks adapted for different age groups. In particular, the APS-P is used with children ages 4-6 years while the APS is used with children ages 6-10 years. The measures have strong research support and theoretic basis, including consistently impressive validity and reliability (e.g., Delvecchio et al., 2016; Fehr & Russ, 2014; Kaugars & Russ, 2009; Russ, 2004). However, there is overlap in that either measure could be administered to six-year-old children, and it is unclear if children would perform equally across both measures. Only one study has specifically examined correspondence between the two measures and the impact of which task is selected (i.e., APS or APS-P) on cognitive and affective scores observed, and this study examined the play of Italian children (Mazzeschi et al., 2008). The current study explored the correspondence and agreement of cognitive, affective, and type of play (e.g., functional, pretend play) APS and APS-P scores in a US sample, as well as the impact of administration type (i.e., whether the APS or APS-P were administered) on differences between obtained scores. A sample of 27 six- and seven-year-old children were included in the current analyses. Results indicated high correlations between APS and APS-P scores. However, absolute agreement was variable, ranging from good to poor. With the exception of Functional Play, children had significant differences in their scores between the APS and APS-P. Overall, results suggest that children tended to obtain higher play scores on the APS-P than the APS. Given the strong clinical utility of play-based measures, further research is needed on the APS and APS-P to explore the factors that may impact observed differences in order to guide future clinical use and measure selection for specific uses. Additional clinical implications, strengths, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Literature in the area of play was surveyed, summarized, and organized. The historical approach was used for the collection of data for this study. Materials gathered were acquired through the sources provided by library services as well as current authorities in the field of play therapy. As the material was collected, the focus areas or sections began to naturally develop because of the commonality of the articles. The material found was divided into theory, approach, position, and research. The material found on theory and approach was organized into Chapter II. The material found on position and research was organized into Chapter III. Body movements of both child and therapist offer much research possibility. Since most of the child's language is nonverbal, it is critical that persons develop ways of evaluating and identifying his body signals. Research is needed on the potential use of every toy which is included in the playroom. Research is needed on the potential potency and effect of every type limit set within the play therapy process. Research is needed on the effect of the therapist on the process. Research is needed in reference to training models for the development of play therapy skills in professionals, paraprofessionals, and parents.

In order to establish the appropriateness of the western model of non-directive play therapy within the Kenyan context, the study explored the experiences of trained play therapists using the western model of non-directive play therapy in their therapeutic work with a Kenyan child. The study used qualitative methodology with thematic analysis where six trained non-directive play therapists with more than two years' practical experience participated. The participants comprised of five females and one male aged between 40 to mid-50 years were interviewed using semi-structured interviews while the interviews were tape recorded prior to their transcription. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis guidelines and the findings generated two main overarching themes stating that the Western model of Non-directive play therapy used in a therapeutic setting with a Kenyan child is in a large scale 'appropriate' (effective) while in some cases the same participants found the model 'inappropriate' (not effective) based on the Kenyan cultural beliefs and practices. Within the two main overarching themes, emanated seven candidate themes perceived by my participants to be indicators of the appropriateness of the western model of non- directive play therapy within the Kenyan context, in which the therapists' experiences revealed that in their therapeutic work with a Kenyan child using this model, the child developed a sense of 'empowerment'; 'freedom' and at the same time became 'expressive' through the use of play. Meanwhile the inappropriateness of western model of non - directive play therapy in the Kenyan context were mainly perceived to be caused by 'lack of awareness' of the model's existence and/or importance by most Kenyan communities, 'cultural barriers' particularly with regard to the use of 'play' and 'non- direction' in this model, Kenya's 'directive education system' as opposed to the western non-direction and 'social economic status' of most Kenyans leading to access issues were also experienced as contributors to the models in appropriateness within the Kenyan context.