Abstract

Hong Kong policy makers have been advocating ‘learning through play’ as the core element of the curriculum and pedagogy in the pre-primary education for many years. However, many pre-primary institutions are still inclined to stress the intellectual aspects rather than focusing on children’s developmental needs, interests and abilities. In order to promote the use of a play-based pedagogy, it is essential to understand what ‘play’ is from the children’s perspective. This qualitative study aims to explore how ‘play’ and ‘non-play’ are conceptualized amongst young children in the Hong Kong context. Two 5-6 year-old from pre-schools and two Primary one children with 6-7 year-old were invited to participate in the project. They were asked to: 1) take photographs of other children ‘playing’ and ‘non-playing’ in their preschool/schools and home/community settings; and, 2) draw pictures of ‘play’ and ‘non-play’. Individual interviews were conducted to discuss about their drawings and the photographs they took and hence to understand how they made sense of ‘play’ and ‘non-play’. The findings showed that both groups of children regarded ‘play’ as ‘joyful’ activities and ‘non-play’ as something related to work or task. The results also demonstrated the significant role of cultural context in influencing children’s interests and hence their play.