Citation

Lynch H, Hayes N, Ryan S. J. Occup. Sci. 2016; 23(3): 352-369.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, School of Occupational Therapy, University of South Australia, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14427591.2015.1080181

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Home learning environments have been the focus of concern in recent years, due to evidence of the impact of the home environment on early development. To date, few studies in occupational science have researched infant play development in the home. This study aimed to explore sociocultural influences on infant occupational development through the lens of play events that occurred in home settings of five families from urban and rural settings in Ireland. A qualitative ethnographic approach was employed over a 12 month period to gather data on play processes of two new-borns and three 1-year olds and their families. Data were generated monthly through observations of the infants engaging in play in their natural environments and interviews with the primary carer. Grounded theory methods were employed to analyse and interpret infant-environment transactions during play events in daily routines. The bio-ecological model of human development was adopted as a way of operationalising the transactional approach (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). Taking one element of a larger study, this paper presents findings on the sociocultural environment as it influences play events in the home setting. The study identifies that infant play can be viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon which is shaped by sociocultural factors from macrosystem to microsystem levels.

FINDINGS identified that play occupations were influenced by different forms of parental reasoning: personal, knowledge-based, future-based, practical-based, sociocultural and narrative. These findings provide a preliminary understanding of socio-cultural transactional processes that influence the development of infants' play occupations.

Language: en