Parents Understanding of Children’s Play: An Ecological Study

A PhD researcher from Deakin University would like to invite you to participate in a study around parents understanding of children’s play.

Do you have children aged 2-5 years old? Are you interested in being a part of a survey looking at parents understanding of children’s play?

You are invited to take part in this research project titled ‘Parents Understanding of Children’s Play: An Ecological Study’ contributing to the researchers Graduate Certificate of Education Research. The purpose of this study is to seek to understand the perceptions that parents hold about children’s play.

This study aims to answer the following questions:

• How do parents provide opportunities for children to play?

• What are parents understanding of children’s development through play?

• Where do parents learn about children’s play?

Risks and potential benefits to participants

There are no foreseen risks associated with this research. To protect your time as a participant you can select which research activities you are involved in. You are also guided towards the time commitment for each activity and are able to nominate the best time for an interview to occur should you wish to participate.  

Your time in the research will contribute to a better understanding of parents’ perspectives on children’s play which will strengthen the wider evidence based in early childhood education. In particular, the findings may benefit educators and teachers in early childhood education as they can have a better understanding of parents’ expectations and knowledge of playful learning. With the insights gained from this study, it will become clear what, if any, resources needed to be developed or provided to better support parental learning and understanding of children’s play.

This study has received Deakin University ethics approval (reference number: HAE-23-037).

This is research supported by Deakin University