How play becomes educational: case study in an out-of-school club in France

ABSTRACT

Based on direct observations in an out-of-school club in France, this paper discusses the different forms of actions grouped under the general term of ‘play’ initiated either by the children or their animateurs. After presenting the fieldwork, the first part of the paper aims to untangle the complex web of frameworks that organise out-of-school times and spaces depending on the different engagements and levels of involvement on the part of the children and their animateurs. The analysis then describes how games and other organised play activities can be formalised through an educational process led by adult agenda and contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of the relationships between leisure and education.

KEYWORDS:

• Play
• games
• out-of-school activities
• school form
• formalisation
• educational leisure activities

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Marc Carletti for his support and the reviewers for their careful revision. and their pertinent comments which helped to improve the text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 After-school programmes that organised children’s leisure activities while providing them with basic religious instruction after the secularisation of public schooling in working-class parishes or parochial schools.

2 The French term ‘animateur(s)’ is quite difficult to translate in English when ‘supervisor’, ‘youth leader’ or ‘counsellor’ doesn’t fit their work. A more apt translation could be ‘organiser’, but we prefer to keep the French word, which better reflects the specificity of their practice.

3 In order to differentiate the animateurs from the children, the first names of the former are written in small capitals, thus highlighting an asymmetry of position with respect to the children, whose first names are written in ordinary case.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the GIS Jeu et société for the translation.