Play Experiences and Perceptions of Young Children Living in Disadvantaged Socioeconomic and Cultural Contexts in Turkey

This phenomenological study examined the play experiences and perceptions of eighteen 5- to 6-year-old children from three disadvantaged socioeconomic and cultural contexts in Turkey. Data were generated through semi-structured individual interviews with children. Results indicated that children's play experiences and perceptions were influenced by the context and cultural characteristics in which they lived. Children defined play as the various activities they choose to do primarily outdoors, and their play experiences varied in relation to their parents' attitudes, socioeconomic opportunities, culture-specific judgments, and affordances of their physical environment. Parents set limits on their children's play and play spaces due to safety concerns, possibility of damaging property, and responsibilities which the children were expected to fulfill. However, children were usually allowed to play outside within hearing distance of their parents, provided that they completed their homework and avoided risks and danger. Although the children had limited play materials, gender stereotypes were quite evident in their play materials and playmate preferences. Participant children reported that their parents usually did not play with them as well as did not prefer them to become playmates with children of the opposite gender.