Ethnographic Analysis Of Play

According to Allison James and Adrian James, “Play is defined as pleasurable activities freely engaged in by children; freedom from work; to act frivolously or capriciously” (“Play”). The act of play is of great importance to youth as it develops ways of expressing opinions and voices, some of which have been muted by adults in the constant power struggle that silences children. The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has recognized plays importance, and declares it as a universal right for every child (Ginsburg 1). There are various accounts of ethnographic work concerning child’s pretend play that exhibit youth as social actors, capable of taking part in public life. (“Social Actor”). Distinct ethnographic research is carefully

When Penny, a child from a London Primary School playground was asked where the rules of her game came from, she replies with, “I just made them up” (Richards 7). Penny devised her own set of rules during a game of tag; she is an efficient author of her own world. Affirming with the description provided by Alison James and Adrian James, agency is, “the capacity of individuals to act independently” (“Agency”). Children are able, through social relationships, to communicate their own ideas, thus becoming part of the wider society and having some if not most of an impact on the changes that occur. This paper will investigate children under the age of fifteen using pretend play to make sense of the world around them by aiding their understanding of social roles, the power divide, and the difference between right and wrong, thus demonstrating youth as competent narrators of their own

A dramatic scene takes place at the Primary school in regional New South Wales, Australia, expressing children’s emotions towards adult authority (Simmons 1). Play empowers children through this form of dramatic play using popular culture to enhance their message (Simmons 10). The children performing these acts were fifth and sixth graders, Catharine Simmons would visit the drama sessions of fifth and six-grade classes to conduct participant observation at least three times a week. The children are given a drama prop box to simply act out what ever they feel fit that day, inside the box supplies rang from fake money and fruit, to bags and wigs. One girl and three boys compose a fair well to their principal, using the KFC theme song as a basis for the lyrics and actions they sung for their principal (Simmons 279). The children use the toys in the box to mock adult authority, thus conveying their knowledge of the divide between adults and children, voicing their opinions about it through dramatic play. Deon, one of the boys in the skit says, “Mr. Jenkins comes up to me and I’m like whatever,” as he finishes his exert with, “Then we shove it into his face and get another lot of chicken-pork from under our jackets” (Simmons 10). Within the confines of their school, they are positioned as powerless