Using the Method of Ethology to Study Australian Preschool Children's Play and Social Behaviour

The ethological approach has made an important contribution to observational child research this century. Although studied in many early childhood courses in Australia, the method of ethology has rarely been used in published research here. This paper reports a study using this method to observe children's interactions and play in an Australian preschool. The main dimensions of individual difference in this group of children were established using Factor Analysis and results compared with those of British and North American samples. The method is evaluated. The time-consuming, labour-intensive nature of the approach is contrasted with its potential to provide unique insights into the play and social behaviour of children.