American and Japanese Kindergartners’ Meanings of Play Through the Use of Photo Elicitation - What Can We Learn From Them?

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

Explores how American and Japanese kindergartners define play by having children photograph activities they consider play and explain their photos. Contrasts instructional and classroom practices, noting differences in individual versus group-oriented play, teacher prompts for opinions and cooperation, and available outdoor space. Draws on analyses of children’s photo explanations and interviews from 44 children in the U.S. and 55 in Japan, aiming to inform developmentally appropriate early childhood education and cross-cultural understanding.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

View play through a child’s perspective

Theoretical Background

Understanding Kindergarteners’ Views of Play Through Their Photos

American and Japanese Kindergartners’ Meanings of Play Through the Use of Photo Elicitation: What Can We Learn From Them? | View play through a child’s perspective in culturally diverse early childhood programs. | Satomi Izumi-Taylor & Yoko Ito | | --- | --- | | | | We are familiar with adults’ play perspectives, but what about children’s perspectives of play? What constitutes play for children may differ from that of adults, thus when teachers understand children’s perspectives of play, they can provide developmentally appropriate play environments (Rosenow, 2008) . For instance, we can see this perspective in the following language sample ofAmerican and Japanese kindergartners as they explain the play captured in photos they have taken, the children explain:“This is an obese chicken.” “I took this picture of chickens because I like them.”“They are jumping and talking to each other, and doing really cool stuff.” This article describes how American and Japanese kindergartners see play and what teachers can learn from them. The examples are based on our study of kindergartners’ views when asked to both photograph and explain their meanings of play (Izumi-Taylor, Ito,& Krisell, 2014) . We share our findings from analyzing photos and interviews from 44 American children in the southeastern United States and 55 Japanese children in the main island of Japan, all aged five to six years. All of the students attended school five days per week. We invited all children in one American school that prescribed individual instruction, as well as all Japanese kindergartners in one group-oriented school who participated in the study. In the American classroom, the children engaged in more individual activities than their Japanese counterparts, and the American teachers encouraged students’individual opinions and feedback. In the Japanese classroom, group-oriented play activities and group instruc- tion were valued, and the teachers encouraged students’cooperation by asking the whole class for its opinions and supported the students’ participation during discussions. Although both schools were located in urban areas, the Japanese school had a more spacious natural playground than the American school, and included a small hill, trees, flowers, and bushes. The American school served children from low-to-middle-class families with 93% Caucasian and 7% African and Hispanic American populations, while the Japanese school’s children were 100% Japanese from low-to-middle-class families. All children used digital cameras provided by adult acquaintances, and none of them asked for help taking the photos. Both American and Japanese adult acquaintances gave the same instructions to the children by saying“I would like for you to photograph what you think is play, and after photographing, I will show your photos toyou so you can tell me why you think they are play to you.”After the pictures were taken, the adult acquaintances showed the children their photos and asked the following question,“Can you tell me why these photos mean play to you?”Children in both countries had ample opportunities to photograph both indoors and outdoors at their schools without adult presence. Theoretical Background Previous American research studies on children’s perspectives of play are considered outdated and limited since children’s play perspectives came from only interviews (Fein & Wiltz, 1998; King, 1979, 1986; Wing, 1995) . Through interviewing, two studies found that Dimensions of Early Childhood Vol 44, No 2, 2016 27 American and Japanese Kindergartners’ Meanings of Play Through the Use of Photo Elicitation: What Can We Learn From Them? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | “Can you see what it says here? It says ‘Snail institute,’ and this is where we study snails. We created the building, the sign, drew these pictures, | | | and also wrote the name,” explained a Japanese girl. | | | Photo courtesy of authors school play time is childr

FAQs

How did the study capture children’s meanings of play?

Children used digital cameras to photograph what they thought was play, then explained why the photos represented play after adults showed them the pictures.

What instructional differences were observed between the American and Japanese classrooms?

The American classroom emphasized more individual activities and encouraged individual opinions, while the Japanese classroom valued group-oriented play and supported cooperation through whole-class discussion.

What were the study’s main participants and setting details?

The study involved 44 American children in southeastern United States and 55 Japanese children on Japan’s main island, all aged five to six, attending school five days per week.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado