Two aspects of identity construction in children’s play

This paper examines how children’s engagement and play with their everyday cultural materials – such as toys, books, digital games, and drawing – influence their understanding of social reality. Drawing on sociocultural theories of identity and symbolic interaction, we explore how children express their understanding of common cultural constructs, including the notion of the generalized other and forms of empowerment, in their play. We engaged in dynamic interviews and naturalistic observation with seven children, ranging in age from 4 to 11 years, in their homes and with their own online and offline play materials. A series of three to four play-based interviews were conducted with each child, spaced over a period of five months. Interviews were audio-recorded, and data were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Two main themes emerged: Children’s play with social constructs, and children’s play and empowerment. We argue that recognizing the sociocultural dimensions of children’s play offers insight into how they internalize, reproduce, and sometimes challenge social norms, particularly in how they perceive the self and the other.

Identity (music · Identity formation · Child and Animal Learning Development · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Innovative Education and Learning Practices

• Play-Based Mathematical Learning in Early Childhood

  Open Access•Areti Panaoura•Education Sciences•2026

  Incluir item

• Phenomenology of Practice

  Max Van Manen•Phenomenology of Practice•2016

  Incluir item

• Personal play identity and the fundamental elements in its development process

  Open Access•Gökhan Güneş•Current Psychology•2023

  Incluir item

• The Personal and the Social

  Open Access•Agnes E Dodds, J A Lawrence et al.•Theory & Psychology•1997

  Incluir item

• Play and Its Role in the Mental Development of the Child

  L S Vygotsky•Soviet Psychology•1967

  Incluir item

• The Logic of Practice

  Pierre Bourdieu•The Logic of Practice•1990

  Incluir item

• Philosophy of Social Science

  Open Access•Ted Benton, Ian Craib•Philosophy of Social Science•2011

  Incluir item

• Chapter 3

  Open Access•J P Gee•Review of Research in Education•2000

  Incluir item

• I'm Not Scared of Anything

  Open Access•J Ahn•Childhood•2010

  Incluir item

• Revisiting the Generalized Other

  Open Access•Clare Holdsworth, David Hj Morgan et al.•Sociology•2007

  Incluir item