Structural conditions for children's play in kindergarten

Abstract

This article explores how the organisation of children, physical space and materials influences the structural conditions of play in kindergartens in Norway. The main purpose is to analyse relations between the organizational model of the kindergarten and these structural conditions of play. The result are based on a survey and interviews with head teachers and pedagogical leaders from 127 kindergartens. The results indicate that the kindergarten’s choice of organizational model provides varying structural conditions for children`s play. One can conclude that some of the variables included in the study, like access to play materials and group size, may promote the quality of children’s play.