Preschoolers’ Engineering Play Behaviors

Differences in Gender and Play Context

Abstract

Researchers used observations of 66preschool children’s engagement with large lightweight blocks and more traditional play materials to describe preschoolers’ “engineering play,” a new construct focused onearly design-and construction-related thinking and behavior(Bairaktarovaet al.2011). The study exploredengineering play and gender differencesacross three play contexts: traditional playground, dramatic play area, and the large blocks. Results showed no gender differences, but distinct context differences in the frequency of engineering play, with large blocks apparently offering more opportunities.More research is needed to explorethe role of large, loose parts inearly STEM-related play behavior.