Pretend play is important for children's development. However, recent research indicates that, as preschool children age and get more proficient at pretend play, they prefer real objects. We examined whether toddlers prefer real objects when they are younger as well as when they are older and more proficient in pretend play situations. Forty-three…

The purpose of this pilot study is to identify how Waldorf-inspired imaginative teaching methods, and low-technology prototyping promote New Media Literacies (NMLs) development at upper elementary school students. Particularly, the aim is twofold: firstly, to test the feasibility of the research design and validate the research instruments;…

Science education become one prioritie of modern societies, with the purpose of forming scientifically literate youth and adults. They play an active role in solving the problems existing in society, making critical and informed decisions. In this paper we discuss the need for scientifically literate citizens and the relevance of practical work as…

Teachers face a growing call for implementing inquiry-based teaching and learning in a current pedagogical environment that contradicts this through educational practices that silo content, disseminate knowledge, and produce classrooms of passive learners. We address a hot topic in the United States on how a push for more "academics" is…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

Purpose: Research indicates that delayed motor development observed in the first years of life can be prevented through compensatory intervention programmes that provide proper care during this critical period of child development. Method: This study analysed the impact of a 12-week compensatory motor intervention programme on 32 babies with…

Many young children receive developmental screenings because they do not perform basic self-regulation skills needed in preschool and home environments. Previous research on Literacy-Based Behavioural Interventions (LBBI) shows promise for promoting acquisition and maintenance of skills and routines; however, research has not yet examined the…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Social Affairs has launched an initiative to revive traditional play so as to increase children's knowledge of the UAE's rich culture, traditions and heritage. Inspired by the initiative, this qualitative study is a synthesis of locally written historical accounts interlaced with 52 Emirati kindergarten…

Play has long been recognised as a vehicle by which significant developmental advances occur during early childhood. Children use play to explore their relationships, their psychosocial skills, and their environment, and through their experiences, they begin to adopt specific capacities and values that have an impact on future socio-emotional and…

This study examined parents' developmentally appropriate beliefs about young children's play and parents' views on their child's play skills. This exploratory secondary data analysis was drawn from data on low-income African-American and Latino parents and their children (n = 109) participating in Head Start programmes in the USA. Compared with…

In this research, children's creativity in pretend play and the conditions for creativity during high involvement are studied from four points of view: as a zone for proximal development, as a skill, as a personal orientation and as a culturally shared environment creation. The theoretical model is influenced by Vygotsky's ideas of creativity as…

Kindergarten has become increasingly academic in nature. One of the primary dilemmas arising from this shift is the tension between the use of developmentally appropriate practices and the obligation to teach academic standards. To gain a deeper understanding of how kindergarten is enacted in the evolving curricular landscape, we look beyond these…

As in many Western countries, children's learning in the curriculum of Estonian Early Childhood Education is seen as a lifelong process, wherein the teacher is primarily a guide to children's active learning. Thus, a child-centred approach to learning is valued in the national curriculum, but our interest was whether this approach is fixed in the…

Preschool teachers' beliefs relating to the importance of social-emotional competence and teacher practices that support children's competence were investigated through surveys and focus groups. Survey results indicated that Head Start and public school pre-K teachers placed higher importance on social-emotional behaviours and skills than on early…