Playwork is a recognised profession in the United Kingdom (UK) and is currently a growing area of interest internationally. However, debates about the nature and purpose of playwork have raged in the playwork field since the profession was invented in the early adventure playgrounds. This study is the first to capture data about what the now…

In a world that seems to grow more unpredictable and challenging by the day, how can we increase learning and joy for children while offering them much-needed support? Uncertainty and disruption have created a youth mental health crisis that requires all hands on deck. This urgently needed guidebook offers comprehensive and scientifically-grounded…

Children's well-being is a multidimensional concept crucial for their overall quality of life. This study investigates the complex relationship of variables influencing children's well-being in Cyprus, using the theoretical framework of Allardt's theory of well-being. It aims to uncover underlying factors shaping children's lives among well-being,…

The early years of childhood development are a significant time for the acquisition and application of skills that foster motor development, cognitive understanding, and social well-being. However, there are gaps in knowledge of and practical skills for developing physical literacy within early childhood educator preparation programs. This article…

This empirical tracking case study explores the content and quality of an infant's home musical environment and family member-infant musical interactions. To this end, this study tracked and analyzed audio recordings of an infant girl's family life between the ages of seven and thirteen months and follow-up interviews with her parents. The…

There is insufficient Swedish research on giftedness and home-school collaboration and meeting gifted children's needs in early childhood education. This qualitative study explored these issues by interviewing parents of gifted children. The thematic analysis examined parents' descriptions of children's early development, asynchronicity, and…

Forest school is a form of outdoor learning that takes children into regular and repeated learning experiences in natural settings. Being based on a comprehensive experience with nature, it is assumed to be beneficial for learning and to promote restorative effects on cognitive and emotional function in preschool children. This review aimed to…

Parents` significance in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is emphasized in the research, but primarily from the perspective of ECEC professionals. Drawing on discursive institutionalism, we analysed what parents of young children in Finland constructed as essential in ECEC from the child`s point of view in their discussions concerning the…

The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) developed the "Strengthening Families Approach and Protective Factors Framework" (SF) and the "Youth Thrive Protective and Promotive Factors Framework" (YT) in response to an urgent need in the fields of child maltreatment prevention and youth services to shift from a primary…

The impact of children's health, wellbeing, and family environment on their learning and development is evident. Identifying the needs of children and their families is the first step to effectively developing and implementing programs that promote child development. This research employed a convergent mixed methods design and incorporated…

The loss of biodiversity is a global and local problem and challenge. The problem is solvable only with changed behavior, which can be achieved through education. In the literature, there are no criteria for achieving biodiversity literacy despite internationally binding documents, such as the United Nations' "Agenda 21" and…

The study explored parents' opinions regarding the forest kindergarten attended by their children. Six parents participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore their experiences. The topics raised in the interviews concerned four areas: sources of parents' knowledge about forest kindergartens; arguments for choosing a…

"Learning loss" has become the new buzzword in education during the COVID-19 era. Learning loss may be real in certain academic subjects (e.g. mathematics and reading) for certain students, as indicated by standardized test scores. However, it only tells a partial story. The other part of the story actually indicates different kinds of…

Childhood research is increasingly being conducted from different disciplines, and research methods for showing the child's world are also increasing and evolving. This article examines the challenges and opportunities of childhood research in an early childhood education and care (ECEC) environment from an ethnographic approach. The purpose of…

Parental involvement in play has long been an essential piece of healthy child development and wellbeing, yet when it comes to digital play, parent-child relationships are often characterized by conflict and stress. This research explored the relationship between parental involvement with children's digital game play, digital game design, and…