Brincadeiras de crianças brasileiras e portuguesas no contexto escolar

The present study aimed to characterize and compare schoolchildren's play in two samples from different countries (Brazil and Portugal). METHODS: In each context 11 children participated in the study. All participating children had been attending the second grade of elementary school. Observations were carried out at school in a room, which had toys available. In order to register children's behaviors, it was used observations of the focal child and time sampling. RESULTS: Similar results were found in the two contexts regarding both the types of social interactions and children's choices of toys and plays. In terms of social interactions, children preferred to play in dyads. Boys showed a higher tendency to sex segregation in their activities than girls. The types of toys most used by children were the ones in the motor category, followed by the ones in the cognitive category. Educational toys, in turn, were the least used in children's play. Stick to the rules was the play activity most observed by researchers. However, when children were not sticking to the rules, the two samples showed different results. Brazilian children preferred to engage in games/rules, whereas Portuguese children preferred to engage in make-believe play. In both contexts boys preferred rough and tumble play more than girls. When Brazilian children were not playing, they preferred to engage in talking, whereas Portuguese children were more engaged in onlooker activity. CONCLUSION: Similarities between the two samples suggest common aspects in play behavior, while their differences refer to particularities of each social-cultural context.