This article develops the ideas of perfection and education in Spinoza and Maimonides. Both thinkers identify human perfection with intellectual knowledge and a transformation in affect. They accordingly envision education in terms of enhancing cognition and shaping the desire to know. The first steps are a critical evaluation of imagination and…

This theoretical article examines the crucial role of play-based learning (PBL) in enhancing the mathematical skills of children in the Early Childhood Phase, referred to as Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners, within a South African context. The article argues that the traditional approach to teaching early childhood mathematics, where teachers…

The present research focuses on one aspect of John Dewey's teaching methodology--the role of imagination--that, though not fully developed into a coherent theory within his writings on education, and hence underestimated in the subsequent secondary literature, stands up to criticism and still proves to be viable. In the second section of the…

The international trend to increase the cognitive achievement of early childhood children has generated a need for better understanding how concept formation occurs within play-based programs. Yet the theories of play for supporting early childhood professionals were originally not conceptualized with this need in mind. In this article, concepts…

Explores the dissociation between the performance by children with autism on false belief tasks, on which they do poorly, and false photograph, false map, and false drawing tasks, on which they do well. Suggesting domain specificity in the development of representational system, the results supported the modularity of theory of mind and the…

AN INVESTIGATION WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EXPLORE THE INSTRUCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF JEAN PIAGET'S POSITION ON EQUILIBRATION. ONE PURPOSE WAS TO TEST THE GENERAL HYPOTHESIS THAT THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN, WHEN DISPLACED BY EVIDENCE CONTRARY TO THE MISCONCEPTIONS, GIVE RISE TO COGNITIVE CONFLICTS. THE RESULTS, IN GENERAL, CONFIRM THIS HYPOTHESIS. A…

Claims that role play has a crucial role in early childhood education. Discusses the essence of play, child development, and the concept of frame play, whereby children and teachers plan and play together. Provides two examples of frame play and discusses their educational implications. (MOK)

The major components of playfulness in kindergarten children are physical, social, and cognitive spontaneity, manifest joy, and sense of humor. Children who are highly playful also show high scores in divergent and creative thinking. Piaget postulated that after the age of 7 or 8 this quality is replaced by assimilating the objective facts of the…

Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in two studies. Found that many four-year olds view magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical explanations for certain real world events that violate their causal expectations. Parents and culture at large may at first actively support magical beliefs whereas peers and schools…

Interviews with fourth graders who had not yet received systematic instruction in U.S. history revealed that these students are interested in the past, concerned about human intentionality and cause-effect relationships, and able to construct coherent narrative accounts of historical events as they understand them. However, they lack an…

The present study was designed to explore the possibility that exposure to the "Misterogers' Neighborhood" program might increase the likelihood of spontaneous imaginative play in preschool children who watched the program over a period of two weeks. The specific focus of this investigation was to determine whether a well-produced…