The author of the article Gender, Toys and Learning is Becky Francis, who is a Professor of Education and Social Justice, as well as the author of many other academic journal articles and books. Francis’ research was funded by the Froebel Research Institute and published in the journal Oxford Review of Education in 2010.
The study focused on the favourite toys and DVDs of children aged three to five. Francis aimed to investigate whether these leisure resources were gendered, and to analyse the ways they could directly educate a child, or develop their skills in a way that could relate to the school curriculum. According to Francis, the argument that children play with certain toys depending on their gender, which then provides them with different …show more content…
They were asked to fill out a brief questionnaire on their child’s gender, favourite toy, and favourite DVD/video. It is stated that some parents wrote what they thought, whereas others asked their child for the response. Arguably, it could be said that the researcher should have instructed the parents to ask the child directly, as the parent’s assumptions could have been incorrect. For example, a child’s favourite toy may be a car they only have access to at nursery. It could be that the parent is unaware of this and may state it was a ‘Little People’ figure they always play with at home. Therefore, the results and further analysis may be skewed. In terms of ethics, it is not stated whether the participants gave fully informed consent. It could be argued that due to the researchers qualifications, and the academic publisher, consent would have been obtained. However, this cannot be …show more content…
This shows a greater understanding is needed on the effects of leisure resources on a child’s learning and development of skills relating to the curriculum. In addition to the areas for further research mentioned by Francis, it could be that a longitudinal study should be conducted following her original study. This would be to see whether the educational benefits of ‘boys’ toys originally presented benefited those children when they progressed to reception or year one/two. Furthermore, research could be done to explore whether girls are worse off as their typical toys do not offer the same educational benefits as
The study focused on the favourite toys and DVDs of children aged three to five. Francis aimed to investigate whether these leisure resources were gendered, and to analyse the ways they could directly educate a child, or develop their skills in a way that could relate to the school curriculum. According to Francis, the argument that children play with certain toys depending on their gender, which then provides them with different …show more content…
They were asked to fill out a brief questionnaire on their child’s gender, favourite toy, and favourite DVD/video. It is stated that some parents wrote what they thought, whereas others asked their child for the response. Arguably, it could be said that the researcher should have instructed the parents to ask the child directly, as the parent’s assumptions could have been incorrect. For example, a child’s favourite toy may be a car they only have access to at nursery. It could be that the parent is unaware of this and may state it was a ‘Little People’ figure they always play with at home. Therefore, the results and further analysis may be skewed. In terms of ethics, it is not stated whether the participants gave fully informed consent. It could be argued that due to the researchers qualifications, and the academic publisher, consent would have been obtained. However, this cannot be …show more content…
This shows a greater understanding is needed on the effects of leisure resources on a child’s learning and development of skills relating to the curriculum. In addition to the areas for further research mentioned by Francis, it could be that a longitudinal study should be conducted following her original study. This would be to see whether the educational benefits of ‘boys’ toys originally presented benefited those children when they progressed to reception or year one/two. Furthermore, research could be done to explore whether girls are worse off as their typical toys do not offer the same educational benefits as