This report is based on the difference in the behaviour of boys and girls when in the park space and green space of playground. The analysis is also done on one weekday and one weekend to determine the variations in the behavioural difference between boys and girls. This report analyses the importance of discovering the gender disparities in their rate of play in both the green space and the park space of the playground.
Key Points
On Saturday, most boys in the green space take part in group play.
On Saturday, in the park place, most boys participate in associative play, group play and then unoccupied behaviour.
On Saturday, the most girls in the green space exhibited unoccupied behaviour, then a bit of group play and later group technology use.
On Saturday, in the park place, most girls take part in distributed activities, which include mostly group play, and a few take part in group technology use and associative technology use.
On Tuesday, most boys in the green place are involved in group play while a few participate in unoccupied play and solo technology use.
On Tuesday, in the park space, most boys initially engage in group play, and then they take part in group and technology use activities and associative technology use later
On Tuesday, the girls in the green place have a variety of activities which include solo, group and associative technology use. Some girls also engaged in activities that did not fit in the categories stated in the research.
On Tuesday, girls in the park space mostly took part in associative technology use, group technology use and associative play.
Boys are more active on the green space of the playground than on the park space of the playground.
BACKGROUND
Playing is an important entity to a child that is has been recognized as a right by the Nations High Commission for Human Rights. It is an essential entity in the social, cognitive and emotional well-being of a child. The involvement of children in play goes a long way to their performance even in the future. In essence, the degree to which the children involve themselves in activities plays an important role when they get older since it will affect their health, cognitive ability and even how to relate to their peers. Children have different rates of playing. The rate of how children play depends on many factors like the weather, their health status, place available for playing and many others. Children need to an opportunity to express their feelings and most importantly social competence. Physical development is also important for the kids as they play in the playgrounds.
In this report, an analysis is conducted on the difference in gender and play in park playgrounds. The method of collection data that is used in this project is observation. The observation process involved samples of three participants at thirty minutes each. Data was recorded at intervals of three minutes each. Also, data was collected in two separate places, which are the green space and the park space. The children were observed on Saturday and Tuesday. The primary objective of this project was to analyse the behaviours of boys and girls during their play time given different conditions. The data collected essentially provides information on the difference of children play in both the green space and the park space and a weekday and weekend.
Comparison regarding day and place for boys and girls
Summary Data
Saturday
Green Space
Boys
Girls
Park Space
Boys
Girls
Tuesday
Green Space
Boys
Girls
Park Space
Boys
Girls
Key:
1- Unoccupied behaviour
2- Solitary play
3- Group play
4- Associative play
5- Solo technology use
6- Group technology use
7- Associative technology use
8- Supplementary scan due to child not fitting any categories
The information from the data collected reflects that most girls are likely to spend time talking and socializing in groups. The boys are likely to engage in activities that involve groups (group play) like playing football. In this case, the overall analysis would be that in general, a larger number of boys take part in group play as opposed to girls, meaning they have more physical activities compared to the girls. Also, the boys engage in more group play in the green space than in the park space; this only means that there are better conditions for group play which entails more physical activity. Consequently, park space has more favourable conditions for activities that require less physical activity, which many girls can relate to. From the analysed data, the billion dollar question remains; why are boys more physically active compared to girls and what is the effect of such difference in gender and play?
Why the difference?
In most cases, girls take part in a variety of activities but most involve less physical activity like verbal games and conversation. This is reflected in the popular exhibit of girls participating in technology use, and even a few engage in a solo activity.
Boys are naturally energetic, and hence they will involve themselves in activities that are energy demanding like football, which takes place in group play. Boys are also more curious than girls. This trait makes them more active than girls, hence they are more likely to engage in group play activities than girls.
Effects
The research indicates that girls are highly likely to engage in less intense play compared to the boys. The fact that boys are more active than girls and vice versa could be both a good thing and a bad one. This is an aspect that has translated to both boys and girls even in the later years. First, girls are highly likely to be given higher responsibilities than the boys. For instance, there is a higher chance for a girl to take care of her siblings than boys. On the other hand, the fact girls are less active than boys; this aspect has translated into many entities in girls. A good example could be that girls become weightier and in some cases obese compared to their male counterparts.
Strengths
This research is clearly one that proves to be quite an important one. First, it is important to understand the behaviour of both boys and girls to have a clear picture of how it affects their development as they grow up. Therefore, this study is important since it enables one to understand how the behavior of girls and boys when they are young affects then when they grow up.
The research is also relevant since it informs how the structure of playgrounds affects the behaviour of children. From the data collected, it was established that more boys are more active in the green space than in the park space. This means that the surrounding of the green space is more suitable for the boys to engage in group play like football. Also from the data, more children took had varied activities in the park space compared to the green space, meaning that it had a suitable environment for the girl. In essence, this part of the research can play a major role in setting up playgrounds for children.
Weaknesses of the Study
As much as this research has contributed significantly to the study of children geography, it still has its setbacks. The data in this research is analysed from a general point of view. The drawback, in this case, is that every child is different and unique in their behavior. The generalization of the behavior may not be the right information because the behavior of children keeps fluctuating from time to time and they are all unique. In any case, the information collected may not lead to the correct final analysis.
Recommendation
The data analysed in this research presents a clear case of the fact that, boys are more active than girls. As much as this aspect may translate positively to the lives of some girls in the future, it is important for girls to be as active. When girls become as active, there is a high chance of avoiding obesity even when they grow up. The most suitable recommendation, in this case, is that the playgrounds should be designed in a way that motivates physical activity in girls especially. Also, the parents and teachers should be at the forefront of motivating children to take part in play that involves physical activity unlike those that involve the use of technology. Physical activity for both boys and girls will go a long way in improving the health of children even in the future.
The method of data collection is also subject for improvement. Observation method is not always dependable, hence collecting information since it has its shortcomings. For instance, the observer may get tired and collect the wrong information. Therefore it is important to collect data with more dependable methods.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the objective of the project was clearly achieved since it was established that there was a disparity in terms of gender in line with how children play in different parts of the playground. This research is important as it enables an understanding how behavior in children will affect them in future. All in all, play is important to both boys and girls, and they should be encouraged to engage in more physical activity activities in their play.
