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The content of this article are considerations relating to the slogan of play-based-learning. In the first part of the text, referring to the classical definition by Johan Huizinga, the characteristics of play and its functions are presented (Hurlock, Brzezinska), the definition of learning by Teresa Bauman is quoted, and the activity of learning understood as a creative process is discussed (Stasiakiewicz). The second part of the text analyzes two theoretical positions (Moyles, Edwards) and relates their fragments to examples from educational practice. In the conclusion, the author returns to the initial thesis of the article stating that play, learning and work are three different areas of human activity and it is good to preserve their separateness for the benefit of each of them.

The text is a commentary on the project of core curricula in ethics, which was published by the Polish Ministry of Education in 2016 in connection with the reform of education in Poland. The authors draw attention to the shortcomings of the project: narrowing of the subject of ethics to learned norms of behaviour, excessive emphasis on conceptual knowledge instead of training students’ reflecting skills by means of discussion and problem solving. They also point to the programs’ maladjustment to the level of psycho-emotional development of students at this stage, and lack of consistency between particular assumptions of the project. Tekst jest komentarzem do projektu podstaw programowych nauczania etyki, opublikowanego przez MEN w 2016 roku w związku z reformą szkolnictwa. Autorzy zwracają uwagę na mankamenty projektu: zawężanie przedmiotu etyki do wyuczonych norm zachowania, nadmierny nacisk położony na przyswajanie wiedzy pojęciowej, brak miejsca na praktyczne rozwijanie zdolności refleksji poprzez dyskusje i sytuacje problemowe. Wskazują na niedostosowanie programu do psychoemocjonalnego poziomu rozwoju uczniów na tym etapie kształcenia, a także brak spójności między poszczególnymi punktami projektu.

The content of the article is an analysis of two different concepts of children’s playgrounds, one of which is a standard urban/pre-school playground, reproduced in countless variations, and the other is an individualised variation of an adventure playground. The criterion of the analysis was the concept of a non-place by Marc Augé and the pedagogical concept of a place by Maria Mendel, Dorota Klus-Stańska, Jolanta Zwiernik. The analysis has identified two types of discourses that characterize adult organizers of children’s playgrounds: care discourse and emancipatory discourse. The care discourse is a manifestation of concern for children’s safety and it is revealed in the organization of space and delimitation of children’s activity in standard playgrounds, which makes it a place for children (non-place in the Augé concept). The emancipatory discourse makes use of the educational advantages offered by adventure playgrounds and by creating the conditions to increase the participation of children in the life of their community now and in the future makes them children’s place.

The main aim of the article is to draw attention to research conducted in the perspective of children’s studies showing new possibilities of conceptualizing childhood in the space of scientific discourse. What is important for this current of research is to give voice to children and listen to what they have to say about the manifestations of their everyday life. This has been made possible through the use of elements of Alison Clark’s mosaic approach, such as free conversations with children, their photographs and drawing projects of the square they dream of. From the conversations with children and the analyses carried out, a “discourse of danger” has emerged which is dominant among teachers, but which children do not perceive as oppression, but rather tend to avoid unwanted behaviour and search for convenient nooks and crannies. The pedagogue’s perspective obliges the reader to pay attention to the consequences of the identified discourse, limiting children’s opportunities to acquire important motor and social skills, thus reducing their chances of becoming an independent and responsible subject.

Rozważania podjęte w niniejszym tekście są kontynuacją problematyki zogniskowanej wokół badań dzieci, jaką prezentowałam we wcześniejszych publikacjach. W ostatnim czasie odnotować można istotną zmianę, wskazującą na nowe znaczenia nadawane dzieciom uczestniczącym w badaniach, która jest odzwierciedleniem zmiany sposobu postrzegania miejsca dzieci w społeczeństwie i ich roli wobec rówieśników i dorosłych, co znajduje swoje odbicie w sposobach badania dzieciństwa. Prześledzenie stopnia zaangażowania dzieci w proces badawczy pozwala na dostrzeżenie istotnych przeobrażeń dotyczących charakteru badań, przejawiających się w ich terminologii.

This article presents the Mosaic approach described in Alison Clark’s paper Talking and listening to children. The Mosaic approach developed as a multi-method model. It is important to include a range of methods in order to allow children with different abilities and interests to talk about details of their daily lives in an institution for young children. The Mosaic approach consists of observation, child conferencing, using cameras, tours, mapmaking, and interviews with staff and parents. Different examples of Clark’s application of the Mosaic approach in her research in an early childhood institution are discussed in the article. They demonstrate young children’s participation in research, in which adults try to understand their point of view. The Mosaic approach is a collaborative process where adults and children search for meaning together.