Social gaming--online gameplay involving digital interactions with others--is a common form of social media use among adolescents. Research on this topic has neglected the social aspect of gaming and the potential role of social gaming in adolescent development. In this article, we define social gaming, drawing on interdisciplinary theories to…

The early childhood education (ECE) sector has been subjected to increased governance, which has manifested in an increased focus on monitoring and steering the daily life of preschools. It is well documented that instruments of governance change teachers' priorities and practices. Changes are not always in line with the aims of the governing…

Over the past decade the market for children's digital play activities focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has grown exponentially. One benefit to the growth in digital STEM play is that it can provide children opportunities to engage the cognitive skills and practices that can be valuable for formal STEM learning.…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, kindergartens in Hong Kong have sought ways in which to support children's learning at home while schools were closed. We report on a proof-of-concept study: short videos intended to support playful learning at home were distributed to parents/caregivers of preschool children via a smartphone app; toys and a storybook…

Play is essential to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they explore new roles, try out new ideas, and bond with each other. Play increases language, cognitive, and social skills. How can the power of play be harnessed and shaped for educational purposes? How can teachers infuse play into the classroom to improve…

Digital devices such as iPads are prevalent in children's play from an early age. How this shapes young children's play is an area of considerable debate without any clear consensus on how different forms of play are brought into the iPad interaction. In this study, we examined 98 play activities of children in two preschool settings, featuring 2…

Play is an essential skill for children in early intervention settings and contributes to social and emotional development. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show significant delays in action-on-object play skills, vocalizations during play, and novel responding. By assessing and targeting play, children with autism can acquire…

Digital play is a pedagogical construct used in early childhood to explain young children's engagement with technologies. Digital play draws upon theories of play to explain young children's learning with technologies. This paper proposes the further development of digital play by examining how the digital aspect of digital play may also be…

There is a tension between the early years (EY) ideal of 'stretchy time' for free-flow play and discourses surrounding children's digital play, which emphasise the need for time limits. To explore this tension further, we engaged in collaborative reflective dialogue with 20 EY practitioners in a workshop exploring apps for young children. Based on…

The educational game Interactions 500 was extensively used remotely during the COVID-19 Pandemic as an activity at the Federal University of Ceará (Brazil) to help students review intermolecular forces. In the postpandemic years, the game was also used face-to-face in the classroom. However, Apple Store and Google Play Store removed it from their…

We propose a novel model for learning environments to target the characteristics of digital natives and to improve informal learning practices, i.e. the exploration, discovery and self-monitoring of learning content and the reflection on learning activities. The Mobile Playful Learning Environment (MPLE) model is defined as consisting of seven…

"Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (ICSES) which took place on October 20-23, 2023, in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, to…