Adult Memories of Attending After-School Club Provision as a Child Between 1990 and 2010

ABSTRACT

Autobiographical memory supports three functions of remembering past, the self, social, and directive. Previous studies undertaken with adults recalling their play experiences have identified three aspects: the ages between 7 and 12 years are key; there are significant adults involved in the play and location that play talks place. This paper, drawing on an online questionnaire (n = 55), explores adult memories of attending an after-school club as a child between 1990 and 2010. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the responses from the fifty-five participants. The results from this study found adults had predominately positive memories of their time at the after-school club in respect of the activities that were on offer, the supervising adults, the food provided, and friendships made. One negative theme of boredom was identified. This study has implications for professional practice in after-school provision in supporting children’s play.

KEYWORDS:

• Childcare
• childhood
• adulthood
• memories
• play

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pete King

Dr Pete King is a Senior Lecturer at Swansea University and programme manages the MA Developmental and Therapeutic Play and MA Childhood Studies courses. With a background in play and playwork, Pete has practiced and developed playwork in both England and Wales and completed his PhD in children’s perspectives of choice in their play.