Professional attitudes towards children’s risk-taking in play: insights into influencing factors in Dutch contexts

Martin van Rooijen doet een promotie-onderzoek naar risicovol spel met name bij kinderdagverblijven. De branchevereniging besloot als in 2016 tot een bijdrage aan het onderzoek. De vragenlijst onder professionals in de kinderopvang heeft in februari 2019 geleid tot een artikel in het
‘Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning’.

Lees het volledige artikel via de website van het blad.
De samenvatting (abstract) is:

Childcare settings offer an ideal opportunity for children to become acquainted with risk-taking in play, which promotes healthy growth and development. Van Rooijen and Newstead’s (2016) model, based on a review of international literature, has identified the main challenges for childcare professionals when promoting risky play, namely; conflicting pressures from cultural and regulatory factors, parental concerns, personal attitudes and constructs of children. We used an online questionnaire to examine whether these challenges impact on children’s risk-taking play in Dutch childcare contexts. Dutch professionals encounter barriers; especially in external regulations, organization protocols, and parental overprotectiveness. We adjusted the model to gain further insight in influencing factors and their interrelatedness in a Dutch context. Our findings indicate that professionals can be sup- ported with knowledge about and openness in discussion on risky play and with the tools necessary to support autonomy in daily pedagogical decision-making which then supports children’s age-appropriate risk-taking opportunities