ABSTRACT
In terms of understanding and explaining what we see individual children doing, a useful technique is to look for evidence of children following particular themes in their play. You will remember Mary Jane Drummond above talking about how observation can help us know more about the particular schemas (or repeated patterns of behaviour) that children are following. The term ‘schemas’ comes from the work of Piaget and recent research by Chris Athey (1990) has shown how an understanding of these behaviours – often seen as random – can give another view of children’s particular enthusiasms and concerns.
