An investigation of children's perceptions of their own play and their attitudes towards outdoor play

This thesis examined children's perceptions of play and their attitudes towards outdoor play in relation to various variables. The research used quantitative research method and relational survey model, which is the design of quantitative research method. Children's Perceptions of Children's Play and Attitudes towards Outdoor Play scales were determined and applied to 4th grade students studying in 6 primary schools in Kurtalan district of Siirt. 193 (51,7%) male and 180 (48,3%) female students participated in the survey. The data obtained from the questionnaires analysed with T-Test and Anova. According to the results of the analyses, it was determined that there was a significant difference (p=0,02) in the Out-of-School Time Activity sub-dimension of children's perceptions towards their games according to gender and that boys had a higher avarage score than girls. When it was examined whether the sub-dimension scores of children's perceptions towards children's play differed according to the place of residence, it was determined that the avarage of the children living in the district (x̄=11,36) was higher than the avarage of the children living in the village (x̄=10,55) in the Sociability sub-dimension. When the sub-dimensions of children's outdoor play attitudes, which is another scale, were evaluated according to gender, it was found that the avarage of girls (x̄=12,29) was higher than the avarage of boys (x̄=11,13) in the Fears sub-dimension. In this context, girls developed more fear attitudes about their attitudes towards play than boys. Again, both scale scores and children's parental characteristics and housing structures were analysed and no significant difference was found. Finally, the relationship between their perceptions of their play and the sub-dimensions of outdoor play attitude was examined, and a significant positive relationship was found between the Sociability perception sub-dimension (r=0.13; p<0.05) and the Benefits and Unstructured Play sub-dimensions.