The International Playwork Census (IPC) was undertaken to compare demographic data from both playworkers and non-playworkers who use a playwork approach in their work. Data were collected from 273 responses in nineteen different countries reflecting the growth of playwork from its United Kingdom beginnings. Results showed the combined playwork…

Young children engage with digital technologies from a very young age. Often this is considered detrimental to their social development as it is seen as a socially isolating experience. This paper presents the findings of an Australian Research Council funded research project that focused on what characterises infants and toddlers peer-to-peer…

This article shows how a student centered pedagogy called the Improvisational Theater Art Form (ITAF) empowers transformative awareness, growth, and change. In this particular study representative of a larger body of work, 30 undergraduate researcher/participants created improvised games and scenes as expressions of their inner selves to explore…

Play skills are a behavioral cusp as they provide the foundation for the development of other related skills in young children. Children with developmental disabilities often demonstrate significant delays in their play skills. When children do not engage in play at the same rates or in the same ways as their peers or siblings, their ability to…

The benefits of play for children's learning are well-documented and well-researched. The evidence for its positive impact on brain development, social interactions, emotional wellbeing, and motor skills is widespread. So, why should this practice stop after the early years? "A Practical Guide to Play in Education" encourages teachers to…

The current study examines the efficacy of an 8-week pretend play intervention targeting social-cognitive abilities in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), ages 6-9. PWS is a rare disorder associated with various social, emotional, and cognitive challenges linked to pretend play impairments, and for which interventions are sparse. Nineteen…

The use of natural and non-natural play materials in early childhood education is a critical facilitator to children's learning and development. Different materials vary in their affordances for sophisticated play, imagination, and creativity, which contribute to children's complex thinking; with the current focus on technology, it has been…

Background: Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) display impaired pretend play abilities, reflective of broader social-cognitive challenges. Pretend play interventions for children with PWS demonstrate preliminary efficacy for improving cognitive and affective processes in play. It is unknown which specific intervention strategies, such as…

In children's early years, they frequently pretend, create and take on roles while engaging in the dramatic play area where symbols, language and culture are spontaneously developed and applied. Although abundant research has been conducted on sociodramatic play incorporating digital tools and using props, previous research has given less…

Purpose: This study examined how mothers' question-asking behavior relates to their child's syntactic skills. One important aspect of maternal question-asking behavior is the use of complex questions when speaking with children. These questions can differ based on both their purpose and structure. The purpose may be to seek out information, to…

Play-based learning is a combination of rich play and curricular outcomes. When implemented in a classroom, play-based learning has a multitude of positive effects on the students, both academically and social-emotionally. As leaders of a play-based learning classroom, educators must understand the different types of play, how to create an…

Academics is not the sole component of school readiness; rather, it is a compilation of children's physical, social--emotional, language, and cognitive development (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2009; National Education Goal Panels, 1997). The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC,…

Purpose: Stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) and typical disfluencies (TDs) are both more likely to occur as utterance length increases. However, longer and shorter utterances differ by more than the number of morphemes: They may also serve different communicative functions or describe different ideas. Decontextualized language, or language that…

This paper/visual art/puppet show is about the more-than-human entities who help me include my whole self in my teaching and other research. It is about how generative it is to be our whole, sacred, profane, glorious selves. This art reminds us of the importance of dreaming beyond what we have been told is possible. It demonstrates how irreverent,…

Background: Outdoor play supports physical and psychological health among children and early adolescents (EA; ages 10-14). However, most research to date has focused on younger children (under 10), leaving a gap in understanding the specific barriers and facilitators of outdoor play for EA. Objective: This study investigated parental perspectives…