Watching the children watching Play School : indicators of engagement, play and learning

This paper provides an overview of one aspect of a research project to investigate the contribution of the television program Play School to the health and wellbeing of young Australian children. The research question for this aspect of the study was: How do young children respond to the various elements and segments of Play School when viewed within a small group in a suburban preschool context? Children attending two Sydney preschools were observed by co-researchers while they watched an episode of Play School. The observations of the children's responses were recorded and analysed, using a range of theoretical perspectives to identify examples of engagement, play and learning in response to different segments of the program. Qualitative data provided by the co-researchers offered further insight into the impact of particular segments on children's movement responses such as whole body movement, feet-tapping and dancing; verbal responses such as questions and comments and singing; and nonverbal responses such as pointing, nodding, shaking head. The results of the study indicate that Play School viewing supports child engagement, play and learning through verbal interaction and the active participation of preschool-aged children. These results have implications for producers of television programs for young children as well as for early childhood educators and carers who may be investigating ways to increase child engagement in play. [Author abstract]