Children's Play Preferences and Behaviors in Digital or Non-Digital Play

This research examines children's digital and non-digital play preferences and their play behaviors during free play activities. The digital play framework was used to compare children's play preferences and play behaviors. A qualitative comparative case study method was chosen as a research design. The participants of the study were 16 children and their three teachers who worked for a public kindergarten in a western Anatolian city. The data was gathered through natural observations, interviews with children and teachers, and document collection. Constant comparative content analysis techniques were employed to analyze the data. Three basic themes were emerged: (1) Digital or non-digital: What do children want? (2) Who prefers? and (3) How do they play? The study results revealed that children preferred digital or non-digital play in a balanced way; boys preferred digital play materials more than girls. Additionally, epistemic activities such as discovering, solving problems, and gaining skills, and ludic elements including symbol use and innovation were observed in children's digital and non-digital play.