Ivy Schousboe

The Structure of Fantasy Play and Its Implications for Good and Evil Games

In play, Vygotsky noted, the child seems to be a head taller than itself. The question is: What can it see from this position?

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Schousboe, I. (1993). Evil Play. A broader view of play and its functions. Nordisk Psykologi, 45, 97–119. Scholars of different theoretical persuasions seem united in considering imaginary play an “all good” activity with unambiguously positive functions for the current well-being as well as for the longterm development of the child. This article questions the assumption that play can have only positive functions. The paper first tries to establish the existence of games which may reasonably be characterized as evil. Next it identifies certain conceptual problems which seem to facilitate the tendency to overlook possible negative functions of play. To help overcome these problems, the paper proposes a general model of the spheres of reality within which the playing child operates. On the basis of this model, play is analysed as an activity that may enchant the child to move beyond his or her normal limits in a way which may or may not be culturally accepted. It is concluded that play can have not only cat...

Local and Global Perspectives on the Everyday Lives of Children

Cultural psychology has been criticized for producing universalistic theories and fixed norms that serve as tools of ethnocentric hegemony when they are exported to other countries. One way to solve the problem is to recommend that the researcher concentrates on the study of local phenomena. However, this solution might serve as a straitjacket for the opportunity to revise and develop local norms and thinking as well as curtail the necessary discussion of research methods in culture. The paper has two interrelated aims. The first aim is to argue that cultural comparison can help in keeping local perspectives open to change. The second aim is to illustrate that the use of a (particular) method in cross-cultural research in a context in which it has not been applied before can demonstrate the scope of the method. A dialogue between empirical data concerning a local Danish context and Farver’s model for cross-cultural activity analyses is established. The use of this model gives occasion for questioning some of the local ways of dealing with children and for analysing more precisely how they seem to inhibit rather than contribute to children’s development. Against this background the scope of the model is emphasized: the model is meant for analysing meaning and coherence within a community, but it is also well suited for analysing whether meaning and coherence exist.

Kontroversielle lege og deres implikationer

In Western culture many regard play as a powerful activity that is eminently suited as a vehicle through which children may develop qualities that are deemed desirable. The great faith in play as a developing activity is often accompanied by some side effects which the present author regards as detrimental to the understanding of play. Certain types of play are widely regarded as inherently good, while others are depreciated. Frequently, there is a disregard that children are different, even when they engage in the same type of play.The present paper is meant to counteract this tendency. It focuses on games that many adults regard as controversial, i.e., games that contain aggressive elements. It argues that children have valid and various reasons for playing even those games, and that they play them in different ways and with different implications for their social relations.It is recommended that in the practical intercourse with children an open and inquiring attitude should be adopted, and that schola...

Introduction: Children’s Play and Development

Many excellent books have been written about play – so when you write yet another, you are certain to be in good company! At the same time, it must be made clear why one wants to add yet another book about the subject. Our wish is to contribute to play research by giving equal weight to play and cultural-historical theory and hopefully gain further insight by combining the two topics. Metaphorically speaking, our hope is to go further by walking on two legs. Certainly, most publications address both topics, but they are often treated in very unequal proportions. We will attempt to combine them as we go along and in the book seek to balance their relative importance. First step in this introduction will address the question “What is play?” At first the views of central theories of development are mentioned and thereupon we look at play through the cultural-historical lens. In the next part we discuss the application of theories, at first on a general level and afterwards with a focus on cultural-historical theory. Finally follows a brief presentation of all the chapters in the book.

Cultural and Historical Influences on Conceptions and Uses of Play

A cultural-historical approach invites an examination of the cultural basis for the generation of knowledge and for the use and, I would stress, the possible non-use of this knowledge. There are various and sometimes competing assumptions about why and how it is important to be observant of children at play. The different views are seen both in the interpretation of the causes and implications of the fact that children play and in the selection of games to be studied. This chapter will attempt to explore and develop the view that the way play is understood is culturally determined. The aim is to help expand some prevalent conceptions of play by presenting some examples of research and what you might call the policies of play. As underlined by Vygotsky pretend play relates to reality. This observation is not only important in connection with the understanding of children’s play at a concrete level. It also applies to the theoretical level, and in the following I shall examine how, by including this level, it is possible to demonstrate the interrelatedness between cultural-historical contexts, thinking about children’s development and concepts about and attitudes towards play.

The Persistence of Play and What If Thinking

The majority of studies of play are concerned with play as an activity typical of children, and it is often emphasized that children play differently in different stages of their lives. It is demonstrated how the playing activity grows with the child and how the child grows with the playing activity, since it is assumed that play typically has important and beneficial functions for the development of the mental functional aspects which children’s developmental tasks requires at various ages. This research shares with a great proportion of other developmental psychological research its focus on how children differ from adults, and how, step by step, they change and gradually grow increasingly similar to adults.