Size and sexual configuration of informal play groups in the classroom throughout elementary education
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Abstract
The peer playgroup is one of the most important developmental contexts in childhood. The aim of this work is to analyze the group organization of girls throughout Primary Education in terms of centrality, size and sexual configuration. Seventeen classrooms from 7 educational centers in the provinces of Castellón and Seville were evaluated in 1st year of Primary Education (N = 376, 49% girls), 2nd (N = 377, 50.1% girls), 4th (N = 375, 52% girls ) and 6th (N = 366, 51.9%). For the identification of the groups, the Social Cognitive Maps was used (García Bacete and Marande, 2013). Results indicated that 90% of the students were identified by their peers as part of a play group. Most of the identified groups were intrasex. Female intrasex groups were more frequent than male groups. In general, medium-sized groups are more frequent in for girls and large ones in for boys. In 6th grade, the number of groups per classroom increases, their average size decreases, and the percentage of dyads and triads increases. These results show the presence of playgroups throughout Primary Education, as well as the trend, greater in girls than in boys, towards sexual segregation of the groups. Girls tend to be part of smaller groups and their position is more central, probably due to their preference for more intimate and exclusive relationships and the importance given to group cohesion.
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