Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds

Morgenthaler, Thomas; Schulze, Christina; Pentland, Duncan; Lynch, Helen

Publication type:	Conference other
Type of review:	Not specified
Title:	Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds
Authors:	Morgenthaler, Thomas Schulze, Christina Pentland, Duncan Lynch, Helen
et. al:	No
Conference details:	Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023
Issue Date:	Aug-2023
Language:	English
Subjects:	Playground; Environment; Outdoor play; Affordance theory
Subject (DDC):	302: Social interaction 306.48: Free time and tourism
Abstract:	Introduction including Purpose: Children’s play occupations take place in a transaction between children and their physical and social environment (Lynch & Moore, 2016). This transaction can be understood through the theory of affordances which emphasizes “possibilities for actions” perceived by individuals acting within their immediate environment (Gibson, 1979). This presentation aims to use affordances to better understand playground environments and how those are utilized by children. Methods: A scoping review identified 51 peer-reviewed playground articles (Morgenthaler et al., 2023). The result and finding sections were coded using predefined categories relating to what, where, how and with whom the play occupation was done. Inspired by previous research from ecological psychology, education and occupational science (Heft, 1988; Lerstrup & Konijnendijk van den Bosch, 2017; Lynch & Stanley, 2018) an affordance taxonomy was created. This taxonomy was extended by what environmental properties enhanced children’s outdoor play. Results: Results provide an overview of occupations that children engaged in within the playground environments. The created affordance taxonomy describes spaces and objects used as well as social forms children engaged in there play occupations. Environmental properties that afford children’s play occupations vary from child to child and from playground to playground. Environmental properties were found to afford and enhance children’s outdoor play. Implications for Occupational Science: For occupational therapist, occupational scientists, and other disciplines it is important to understand how immediate environments are perceived and utilized by children. This affordance taxonomy for playground environments supports the analysis of potential play occupations available to children.
Further description:	References Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Heft, H. (1988). Affordances of Children’s Environments: A Functional Approach to Environmental Description. Children’s Environments Quarterly, 5(3), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315542553-12 Lerstrup, I., & Konijnendijk van den Bosch, C. (2017). Affordances of outdoor settings for children in preschool: Revisiting heft’s functional taxonomy. Landscape Research, 42(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2016.1252039 Lynch, H., & Moore, A. (2016). Play as an occupation in occupational therapy. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(9), 519–520. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022616664540 Lynch, H., & Stanley, M. (2018). Beyond words: Using qualitative video methods for researching occupation with young children. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 38(1), 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449217718504 Morgenthaler, T., Schulze, C., Pentland, D., & Lynch, H. (2023). Environmental qualities that enhance outdoor play in community playgrounds from the perspective of children with and without disabilities: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 1763. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031763
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/28873
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Not specified
Departement:	School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Occupational Therapy (IER)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	P4Play – europäisches Doktoratsprogramm zur Förderung des kindlichen Spiels
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Gesundheit

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Morgenthaler, T., Schulze, C., Pentland, D., & Lynch, H. (2023, August). Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds. Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023.

Morgenthaler, T. et al. (2023) ‘Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds’, in Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023.

T. Morgenthaler, C. Schulze, D. Pentland, and H. Lynch, “Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds,” in Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023, Aug. 2023.

MORGENTHALER, Thomas, Christina SCHULZE, Duncan PENTLAND und Helen LYNCH, 2023. Adopting an affordance taxonomy to better understand play transactions within playgrounds. In: Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023. Conference presentation. August 2023

Morgenthaler, Thomas, Christina Schulze, Duncan Pentland, and Helen Lynch. 2023. “Adopting an Affordance Taxonomy to Better Understand Play Transactions within Playgrounds.” Conference presentation. In Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023.

Morgenthaler, Thomas, et al. “Adopting an Affordance Taxonomy to Better Understand Play Transactions within Playgrounds.” Occupational Science Europe Conference, Odense, Denmark, 24-26 August 2023, 2023.