This study reports on the development of new motor and behavioural indicators for recognizing symbolic acts among infants. Following five infants between the ages of 6 and 18 months and their ability to use an object in novel way yielded four levels of action, based on the number of objects and actions combined in each symbolic act. Employing…

The current study investigates the influence of situational context on perceptions of playful aggression. Using an online data collection instrument embedded with video vignettes showing young boys engaged in aggressive play behaviour, 36 situational profiles that are defined by the unique combinations of variables believed to influence attitudes…

Debate about the balance between child- and adult-initiated activities in early childhood settings is long standing. This article reports a study of 29 children aged 4-5 years in a London state school, on the influences of child- and adult-initiated activities on children's self-regulation and metacognition. Whilst both contexts were supportive,…

Primary objective: Research has provided evidence of the intersubjective function of imitation in grandparent-infant interaction based on the basic aspects of imitation. This lacks the systematic investigation of behaviour dynamics framing spontaneous imitation. The aim of this study was to compare the dyadic expressive behaviours (vocal, kinetic…

In this study, the researchers aimed to design, plan and implement a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) model to support Pre-K children's skills and knowledge in STEM as well as to improve Pre-K teachers' attitudes and professional skills to plan and integrate STEM concepts in their daily classroom activities. Four classrooms from a…

Rough and tumble play has been found to be positive for physical, social and cognitive development; it is often erroneously misinterpreted as aggression and generally stopped by preschool teachers. The current study sought to examine the relationship between teacher training and education and judgements about aggression in children. Ninety-four…

This study examined the associations among child language competence during father-child play interactions, fathers' time spent volunteering in their preschool-age child's Head Start classroom over the course of one school year, amount of father play and reading to the child at home, and fathers' positive control during play. The sample of 68…

The study focused on qualitative and quantitative differences between maternal and paternal play interaction behaviours with their preschool children. Home observations of 18 child-mother and child-father play interactions were qualitatively analysed to derive interaction themes. In addition, the quality of child-mother and child-father…

The purpose of the present study was to study if purposeful math, science, and technology curriculum projects and activities would support Pre-K children's performance in these subject matter areas. In this study, 58 Pre-K children from 4 Pre-K classrooms in a public Pre-K programme in North Carolina participated. Through a quasi-experimental,…

This paper discusses the results of a study of the relationships between teacher behaviour and the level of play engagement in two- and three-year-old children in Dutch childcare centres. We found that the continuous proximity of the teacher had the greatest impact on the level of play engagement, while the teacher's walking around and only brief…