Myanmar children’s play and resilience: analyses of Myanmar teacher candidates’ digital photo essays

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study examines how Myanmar teacher candidates make sense of children's play using the analyses of the digital photo essays they created. This study aims to shed light on Myanmar children’s play and resilience within the community. Drawn from the interpretative engagement framework, the visual and contextual analyses indicated multiple risk factors that affect Myanmar children’s resilience, such as child neglect, unsafe play areas, and a gap between the Western play-based curriculum and local practices. However, we notably found community resilience in images of children’s traditional play, such as Kyak Hpa Khut, which enables children to be responsible for protecting community members from incoming danger. Finally, the implications for utilizing digital photo essays to understand children’s play and their resilience within indigenous cultural settings are discussed.