Pretend play is an important, universal activity of early childhood, but research to date contains multiple inconsistencies in definitions and measurement of pretend play. To begin to resolve this issue, we conducted a first study of the multiple different behaviors of pretend play in the preschool years (3-5 years), and investigated their…

Historically, research about classroom management has been instrumental in nature. Although some studies have engaged a critical perspective, few have studied management from the perspectives of children. Through interviews with third-grade children, this study asked: "How do third graders make sense of a "clip chart" classroom…

There is ongoing interest in free-flowing routines in early childhood education and care settings (ECEC), however little is known about educators' perceptions of free-flowing routines. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of educators regarding free-flowing routines. A focus group and five semi-structured interviews were…

The notion of learning dispositions has extended conceptions of learning in early childhood education to incorporate dimensions such as habits of mind and patterns of behaviour. This paper conceptualizes learning dispositions through a Chinese lens, and with conceptualizing this notion, explores associated pedagogical practices. The data are drawn…

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are more likely to exhibit internalizing and externalizing behaviors than typically developing peers. Virtually none of the literature, however, reports on the behaviors of students at-risk for writing disabilities (AR-WD). We compared the behaviors of writers who are AR-WD and typically…

Interactive toys for children are becoming more popular for both play and educational purposes, yet an understanding of the dependent measures used to study such interactions has not yet been explored. This study takes advantage of the idea that robotic animals exhibit both living and pretend qualities, and are therefore ideal for studying…

Autism is a developmental disorder that involves many challenges. Autistic children have trouble forming relationships. They also have difficulty understanding and responding to emotional signals from others. Other challenges include using language, using words creatively, using imagination, and, later, thinking abstractly. These are the core…