BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND ELECTRONIC: PLAY THE MEANING FOR CHILDREN OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL OF PIRACICABA-SP

Abstract

This work has the purpose of investigating both traditional and electronic games, as well as the meanings of playing for children in a public school in Piracicaba-SP. When the subject is playing, it is common to value traditional games when compared to electronic ones. This happens because technology is an intrinsec part of the latter. Games as elements of body culture of movement are rarely investigated from a social-cultural point of view. It was used the bibliographic and field researches, and the study is characterized as qualitative. The field research was conducted with nine and ten-year-olds from a public school in the city of Piracicaba- SP. We used the semistructured interviewing technique. The data analysis of the interviews was based on anthropological principles and social-cultural references. The results indicate children move freely from traditional to electronic games. The electronic games have their own tradition. Playing, for them, is a collective activity, related to learning new things and as a compensation for the daily routine.