Gender Differences in Play, and It's Impact on Learning Amongst 1 Children Upto the Age of 8

θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψ υιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδ φγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζ ‘GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON ξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµ LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8 θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψ υιοπασδφγηϕκτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβν µθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτ ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπα A research proposal Submitted σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ For λζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβ ____________________ νµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτ ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπα σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ λζξχϖβϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγη ϕκλζξχϖβνµπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτ ψυιοπδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφ γηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξ ‘Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad χϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθ ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυι οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγ ‘December 2010’ ηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξ χϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµρ τψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπα RESEARCH PROPOSAL Submitted by: ‘Ritika Singh’, ‘Roll No: 22’, ‘Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad’, ‘Shela Village’, ‘Ahmedabad’. SUBMITTED TO :

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION: REVIEW OF LITERATURE JOAN ALMON, COORDINATOR U.S ALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD (ALMON, 2008), WHY GIRLS DIDN’T PLAY VIDEO GAMES? (LAUREL, 2001) LEONARD SAX, WHY GENDER MATTERS (SAX, FEBRUARY 14, 2006): OBJECTIVE OF STUDY: RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY RESEARCH DESIGN INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION LIMITATION OF THE STUDY EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 4 5 5 5 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 10

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GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8

Introduction:

Over the years, the topic on who is better, men or women, has always resulted in a debate. Where men claim that they are better drivers than women, and women claiming that they are better at multi tasking and more nurturing by nature. A lot of people have earned a lot of money by writing articles and books, creating jokes, videos and films on the same. But do these differences exist? Of course they do. The differences can be overcome by conscious diligence to a large extent. These days we see quite a few good women drivers, for instance. But are these differences only sociological, or are they fundamental to our existence? That is, are they created by society, or do they exist even when the child is young? If they do exist, then how are they incorporated in primary school learning? Do teachers note that a girl observes different things, as against a boy, when given the same toy? Or are the observations same? If there is a fundamental difference, then is this difference incorporated when we device various play way techniques in teaching children till the age of 8 years? According to Oscar Negt and Alexander Klug, the development of a children’s public sphere that resists the arbitrary societal control of children, which depends on market forces. They maintained that education in the western world tends to reduce human beings to their productive functions within the capitalist labour process that involves performance at every level not only to sell one’s labour but also one;s mind and disposition. In contrast, Negt and Kluge proposed that, ‘if they are to realize their specific form of sensuality, to fulfill themselves, children require a public sphere that is more spatially concerned than to adults’ (Kluge, 1993). When we talk of a public sphere, should it include gender differences, if there are any? There is a general observation that girls play lesser videogames than boys do. But why is that Online video games like Pixie Hollow, Barbie Girls, Ty Girls, E‐ Pets, Neo Pets, American Girl and Bellasara are popular amongst girls? Amy Peterson Jensen, and McKay Jensen analyse how these games use Wickstorm’s Brandscaping (Wickstorm , 2007) to analyse the how the games psychologically align with the consumer and the content offered (Amy Peterson Jensen, 2010). There are similar studies By Brenda Laurel (Laurel, 2001), Ashley Wright (Wright 2009) which discuss the fundamental character based differences that lead to girls looking for different things in a game, than a boy. (Michael Gurian, October 19, 2010) Michael Gurian studies how boys and girls learn differently, and Leonard Sax’s analysis on how girls and boys are cognitively different from birth (Sax, February 14, 2006). These Studies reflect that there are fundamental cognitive differences between boys and girls from birth. How these affect their play and subsequently their learning skills is what I wish to study through this paper.

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Review of Literature
Joan Almon, coordinator U.S Alliance for Childhood (Almon, 2008),
Remarks, ‘a tremendous Hudson is at work when children play; a kind of genius guides them to play out the very scenes they most need for their growth and development. I saw it over and over; in small ways and in large. It is a tragedy that so many of today’s children have forgotten how to play and cannot access this genius and wisdom within themselves.’ She also talks of how children of today can read and use computers and hi‐tech machines and are so brilliant at such a young age, but they find it difficult to relate strongly with human beings or enter deeper spaces of play. She comments that children today seem impoverished in areas that matter. Oscar Negt and Alexander Kluge (Kluge, 1993) have also argued about the importance of the development of a public sphere in children to fulfill themselves. Almon discusses the importance of letting children play and understand their bodies and environment in their own terms rather than manipulating their lives for the benefit of institutions and corporations of the world. She has also quoted sociologist Roger Callois (Callois, 1961), ‘A game that is esteemed by a people may at the same time be utilized to define the society’s moral/ intellectual character, provide proof of its precise meaning, and contribute to its popular acceptance of accentuating the relevant qualities’. This paper helps establish the importance of play in helping children learn and develop. This paper helps understand the importance of breaking free from the current institutionalized form in which children learn. It discusses that learning shouldn’t be compartmentalized and it should be more exploratory in nature. Play helps build a society’s intellectual character and relevant qualities, thus it should be used as a tool to help children learn. This paper talks of the importance of play in learning. The next few papers talk of the difference in the characteristics of girls and boys, and what they seek when they play a game.

Why Girls Didn’t Play Video Games? (Laurel, 2001)

Brenda Laurel and her Interval Research’s colleagues have discussed the difference in characteristics of boys and girls, to understand what they seek when they play video games. They have discussed that girls prefer choosing ordinary everyday people, where are boys prefer being heroes while designing their ‘Avatars’ for playing a game. Even the goals of playing a game are different; girls play a game to explore and have new experiences with degrees of success

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8 and varying outcomes; boys on the other hand play to win. For boys, the play is linear, black and white, die and start over. Boys seek one right solution while playing and try to master the routine to win. Girls foster multi‐ sensory immersion, discovery of new things, and strong story lines. Whereas boys emphasize on accelerated pace, speed and action. This is why boys prefer car racing games like need for speed and shooting games, as against girls, who prefer games like Mario and Pixie Hollow. In terms of the environment where play takes place, girls prefer a real life setting and boys prefer larger than life settings, especially where virtual games are concerned. A girl would define a successful game play, even if she gets to make more friends; for boys, it is more to do with elimination of competitors (2001). According to Ashley Wright (Wright, 2009) quoted Ann Hamilton (senior brand manager of Ubisoft, a leading international developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products) saying that, ‘Nintendo Wii is really a girl driven platform and is one of the main reasons the Wii has had such success in the marketplace.’. This is because the Wii platform works on a sensory mechanism which works well with girls.

Amy Peterson Jensen and McKay Jensen, in an article on Online Girl Games, Identity and the Creation of a Multi‐ Model Consumer/ Creator, talk about how a game like Pixie Hollow drew the attention of their daughters when girls are not considered to be playing video games, unlike boys. They analysed how Wickstorm’s ideas (Wickstorm, 2007) on Brandscaping has been used by Walt Disney to get their target audience to tangibly identify with the brand they are staging. Amy Peterson Jensen and McKay Jensen have analyzed Brandscaping as ‘Sociomatic Epistemology’ one that allows for a palpable even sensuous ‘embodies comprehension’ (p. 17, Wickstorm 2007) between the body of the consumer and that which they consume. But the authors feel that even though the ideas of brandscaping are wonderfully descriptive of the intents and strategies of trans‐media products, there is more to how consumers actually receive, interpret, and respond to those strategies and intents. (Amy Peterson Jensen, 2010).

Microsoft’s Annual Parent’s Survey (Survey, 2009)
The survey states that by acting technically, girls can resist prevailing gender scripts that devalue authentic selfhood and oppose codified notions of feminity, power relations and other regulations of gender and childhood discoveries embedded in the trans‐media experience. As girls employ tactical skills that allow them to encounter and engage powerfully, with and through consumer products, they are more likely to effectively utilize tactical open spaces to re‐

[GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8] 7 combine images, story lines, ideas, and personality traits to form their own unique identities. This performance of identity, while commercialized as an attractive agent of trans‐media products is nevertheless powerful in its abilities to foster self determinism through unique and unpredictable tactical responses to strategic environments. In short, play keeping in mind traits of girls and boys, helps in forming and developing their identity and personality. But is this difference important to acknowledge while incorporating play in learning. Do boys and girls learn differently? The next piece of literature helps explain that.

Leonard Sax, Why Gender Matters (Sax, February 14, 2006):
In this paper Sax explains that there are significant differences in the ways girls and boys learn, differences which are more substantial than age differences in many ways. In other words, a 7‐year‐old girl and a 7‐year‐old boy differ, on average, on parameters such as "How long can you sit still, be quiet, and pay attention?" Those differences between a same‐age girl and same‐age boy are larger than differences between, say, a 7‐year‐old girl and a 9‐year‐old girl. Most American schools segregate kids on the basis of age differences: they put 7‐ year‐olds in one classroom and 9‐year‐olds in another classroom. And yet, the research clearly demonstrates that the sex differences in learning (between a 7‐ year‐old girl and a 7‐year‐old boy) are larger than the age differences (e.g. between a 7‐year‐old girl and a 9‐year‐old girl). Interestingly, the differences appear to be greatest among the YOUNGEST children. If you visit an all‐girls kindergarten and then an all‐boys kindergarten, you will be struck by how differently the children learn. If you visit an all‐girls 12th‐grade classroom and an all‐boys 12th‐grade classroom, the differences are much more subtle. Some 6‐year‐old boys just have to stand and make buzzing noises in order to learn. It's unusual to find 17‐year‐old boys who absolutely have to stand and make buzzing noises in order to concentrate. Through the literature reviewed above, the following objectives of study arise:

Objective of Study:
Through the literature reviewed, the following objectives arise: • • •

Studying the importance of play in learning, for children below the age of 8. If there is a difference in how girls and boys (below 8 years) comprehend and observe various situations, and what they learn from various stimuli. How this difference should be incorporated in helping children below 8 years learn better.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8

Significance of the Study:
The significance of this study lies in understanding the gender differences in play incorporated learning, and incorporating them to help boys and girls learn better.

Research Approach and Methodology

The scope of this study is urban children below the age of 8 years, studying in public schools, and belonging to Socio Economic Category (SEC) A+, SEC A, and SEC B+ households.

Hypotheses of the Study

In congruence with the objectives, an attempt will be made to test following hypotheses: a) Is play an important factor in learning? b) Is there any difference in the way girls and boys, below 8 years, interpret the environment around them. Do they comprehend and observe various situations, and what they learn from various stimuli differently? c) Is this difference an important factor in helping htem learn? And can it be incorporated in the various learning tools being developed to better the learning process.

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Research Design
This research will be exploratory in nature. The researcher will conduct experiments and tests upon boys and girls of 3 elementary schools in Delhi, to derive her findings.

Instrument for data collection
The instrument of data collection will be observations drawn from experiments conducted on the sample.

Limitation of the Study
The study is restricted to a) Children below the age of 8 years b) Children belonging to families belonging to Socio Economic Category A+, A and B c) Children belonging to 3 schools in Delhi, the national capital of India.

Expected Outcome of the Study
According to the literature review, play should be an integral part of the formal institutionalized learning being imparted in schools in India. There are cognitive differences between girls and boys, which are more evident in their formative years, and these differences should be observed and taken into account to help them learn better. However, we wish to conduct certain experiments and understand the importance and viability of the same, and come up with tools to integrate these differences in the learning process.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PLAY, AND IT’S IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONGST CHILDREN UPTO THE AGE OF 8

Bibliography
Almon, J. (2008). Entering the World of Play (A Place for Play: Elizabeth Goodenough ed.). carmel valley, CA, USA: National Institute of Play. Amy Peterson Jensen, a. M. (2010). Online Girl Games, Identity and the Creation of a Multi­ Model Consumer/ Creator, Children Under Construction, Critical Essays on Play as Curriculum With a Foreword by Jack Zipes (Vols. ISBN 978‐1‐4331‐0623‐1 pb. ). New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main: Oxford. Callois, R. (1961). Chappell, D. (2010 ). Children Under Construction . New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien,. Kluge, O. n. (1993). Public Sphere and Experience Towards and Analysis of the Burgeous and Pedestrian Public Sphere, . (J. O. Peter Lananyi, Trans.) Minneapolis University of Minnisota Press. Laurel, B. (2001). Why Girls Didn't Play Videogames. Interval research. Michael Gurian, K. S. (October 19, 2010). Boys and Girls Learn Differently! A Guide for Teachers and Parents: Revised 10th Anniversary Edition. Jossey‐Bass. Sax, L. (February 14, 2006). Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences . Broadway; 1 edition (February 14, 2006). Survey, M. A. (2009). Wright, A. (2009). Tulsa World.

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