The school‑age‑educare‑center: free play explored through action research

Play has long been, and still is, a central aspect of the school age educare centre's (SAEC) activities. In the governing documents for the SAEC, the importance of play is projected. The importance of play for children's development is also emphasized by researchers as "vital". However, it is not easy for teachers in SAEC to relate to how teaching in play should be staged in the SAEC. Existing research shows that there are difficulties in staging and fulfilling the SAEC's teaching mission because there is a lack of didactic tools/methods that are adapted to the SAEC. Despite this, the teaching in national reviews is criticized as not being sufficiently "prominent or developing". The question is how teaching can be improved when research on SAEC' teaching is still undeveloped. One answer to the question, and a step on the way, is to develop teaching through action research based on the special nature of the SAEC and specifically regarding play, which this project does. 

Play is central to the SAEC's activities and has a strong tradition but which is sometimes taken for granted and therefore becomes unreflective. The SAEC education is largely through play. In order to actively explore one's practice and question notions of play, what is done during play, who participates in play and what happens when educators interrupt play enable, action research is recommended.

With this background, a problem in the SAEC's most important educational activity, based on the needs of the activities and an area of little research, an action-oriented research was carried out in the academic year 23/24 to generate knowledge about the lSAEC's play practices.  

The ambition of the project was to connect theory, practice and reflection regarding play in free-time homes and teachers' approach to play. By using action research as a method, active teachers in SAEC can receive support in their development work from their own activities and structure development work based on the needs of the activities. This study thus answers several challenges and questions that the staff face in connection with their assignment. Teaching in and about play can be developed and improved in the SAEC, with the aim of supporting the pupils' development and learning.