Children’s perspectives on institutionalised leisure-focused Extended Education in Australia, Sweden and Switzerland

Bibliographic Data

ID23311630
AuthorsB Hurst (0000-0003-4238-384X, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Helene Elvstrand (0000-0001-6933-5667, Linköping University), Patricia Schuler Braunschweig (Zurich University of Teacher Education), Marilyn Casley (0000-0001-8258-9784, The University of Queensland), Christina Grewell (0000-0001-9952-2981, Mid Sweden University)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Studies of Childhood (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2043-6106 • E-ISSN: 2043-6106
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/20436106261465942
OpenAlexW7170179718
LanguageEN
References cited28

Extended Education is a term that refers to complementary education services provided to children in the hours outside school. In some global contexts, Extended Education provide a combination of leisure, play, care and education. This article investigates children’s perceptions of leisure-focused Extended Education in three countries: Australia, Sweden and Switzerland. Leisure is an important element of childhood and is afforded the status of a universal right under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Whilst significant numbers of children participate in such services globally, there is a paucity of research available to understand how to best deliver and practice within these services, particularly from the children’s perspective. Researchers from Australia, Sweden and Switzerland collaborated with the aim of contributing to understandings of how leisure-focused Extended Education is experienced and understood by children. The researchers consulted 449 children from Extended Education sites across the three countries using a ‘Talking Circles’ methodology. The analysis applied an inductive thematic analysis. The findings indicated that playing with friends and being able to choose from a variety of fun activities were the most important aspects of Extended Education. These findings are perhaps unsurprising but underline the importance of play and friends for children in their leisure time. The children’s views are provocative, particularly when globally governments are seeking to extract educational value from children’s leisure. These findings reinforce for adults that friendships and play should be the foundation for how leisure-focused Extended Education is conceptualised and practiced.

Convention · Early childhood education · Element (criminal law) · Perception · Relationship education · Thematic analysis · Value (mathematics) · Variety (cybernetics) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Youth Development and Social Support

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