Children learn words in ambiguous situations, where multiple objects can potentially be referents for a new word. Yet, researchers debate whether children maintain a single word-object hypothesis -- and revise it if falsified by later information -- or whether children establish a network of word-object associations whose relative strengths are…

Many scholars are influenced by the theoretical contributions of Lev Vygotsky. Significant post-Vygotskian scholarly writing highlights sociocultural perspectives of understanding everyday, informal learning as an important phenomenon. Ideas of participatory learning, and knowledge building through participation and inquiry, are included in the…

We report here on an intervention implementing a structural approach to arithmetic problem-solving in relation to learning outcomes among preschoolers. Using the fundamental principles of the variation theory of learning for developing the intervention and as an analytical framework, we discuss teaching and learning in commensurable terms. The…

This research focuses on how practitioners in two Norwegian kindergartens interact with children during free play. The purpose of the study is to draw attention to the way the practitioners supported children's learning through their interactions with children during free play. Through naturalistic observations of 17 practitioners, results…

As societies become more aware of the importance of early socio-emotional skills for children's later success, teachers report that they are ill-equipped to support and enhance these skills within their 'traditional' teacher role. This paper turns to the contributions that Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky and his adherents have made to our…

The purpose is to discuss two competing theories of learning in preschool based on preschool teachers' views of knowledge and learning. The focus is mathematical learning but the discussion is applicable to all early childhood learning contexts. Preschool teachers' views on children's learning and development is important for the pedagogy they use…

In this study, we explored how major theoretical principles and concepts in the mediation strategies of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory are realized in an Arabic-Hebrew preschool in Israel. The aim of this study was to examine how teachers encourage children to use their second language (L2) during teacher-child conversations. In particular, as a…

Swedish early childhood education (ECE) offers a curriculum-based preschool for children aged one to five, and a preschool class for children aged six years. Activities in these programs have traditionally been based on play and having fun, avoiding structured activities with formal learning objectives. Due to indications that Swedish ECE has…

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…

Theory-driven and practice-driven research are often separated, but in this article we shall argue for a research approach that is theory-driven but practice-oriented and shares features with the specific kind of early childhood education pedagogy this research approach has generated, what we refer to as developmental pedagogy (Pramling Samuelsson…

A nonverbal false belief task was administered to children (mean age 5 years) and two great ape species: chimpanzees ("Pan troglodytes") and bonobos ("Pan paniscus"). Because apes typically perform poorly in cooperative contexts, our task was competitive. Two versions were run: in both, a human competitor witnessed an experimenter hide a reward in…

Learning is a changing phenomenon, depending on the advances in theory and research. This book presents a relatively new approach to learning, based on meaningful human activities in cultural practices and in collaboration with others. It draws extensively from the ideas of Lev Vygotsky and his recent followers. The book presents ideas that…

The aim of this article is to problematise and discuss collaboration between children as a means of learning and as an essential aspect of pedagogical quality in educational settings. In theories of learning, children's social interaction and collaboration are highlighted as fundamental to their learning. This implies that children's opportunities…

The purposes of this study were to examine priority of recall of newly learned items (PRNI) from a developmental standpoint and to investigate whether preschool children are capable of using the attentional strategy employed by adults in free recall learning (FRL) of new items. In the first experiment the PRNI effect was examined from a…