Flexible futures: children’s agency on the adventure playground

Abstract

ABSTRACTAdventure playgrounds allow for free play – an expression of children’s agency. In England, they have undergone a process of formalisation from the original ‘junk’ playgrounds. Cultural changes such as increased focus on academic performance, childcare, health and safety, and funding pressures have created new challenges. While critiques of change are prevalent in the literature and on the ground, further study is needed to investigate how change on adventure playgrounds affects agency. This research employs environmental analysis, observations, interviews, and creative child-accessible methods on three adventure playgrounds in the south of England, each showing evidence of formalisation. Prevailing theories suggest that flexibility promotes children’s agency. These theories created an interpretive lens for the research findings. Flexibility was found to be a differentiating factor between the playgrounds and corresponded with individual playground’s management approach. The study identified issues of agency associated with a lack of flexibility in management approach, such as parents on the playground, opposition to technology, and questions of playground authenticity. This study argues that flexibility is necessary, not only for children’s expression of agency, but also for the future of adventure playgrounds.