Drawing on feminist, poststructural, and critical theories, the purpose of this research was to understand 5th-grade girls' self-identified barriers to physical activity and work with them to find ways of negotiating those barriers in order to increase their physical activity opportunities. We worked with 11 girls in two elementary schools in…

A qualitative study examining teachers' beliefs regarding developmentally appropriate practices was conducted in the city of Mumbai, India. Twelve kindergarten teacher's were interviewed for this study, and a constant comparative method was used to analyze the interviews. Six themes were identified within this study. The themes highlighted…

The traditional role for teachers in children's play was to structure it, setting rules and interrupting if things got "out of hand." However, for children ages 3 to 5, sociodramatic play is a way to invent and make familiar the rhythms and actions of everyday life. This book describes why play is a fundamentally important part of…

This book serves as a guide to selecting play materials for individuals providing education and care for young children. The introductory chapter of the book discusses child play and the importance of selection of play materials based on needs of children and the purposes they serve. The next six chapters provide information on play materials,…

This descriptive study examined children's drawings and related language episodes to differentiate drawings exhibiting play from those exhibiting exploratory behavior. Drawings categorized as play were further analyzed to identify constructive and imaginary play. The play theory used as the basis of the study proposes that exploration and…

These proceedings contain reprints of 26 papers presented at the 1995 IPA/USA (The American Affiliate of the International Association for the Child's Right to Play) national conference. The aim of the conference was to bring professional and public awareness to intergenerational needs and models with regard to children's development and play…

A qualitative study investigated one group of non-mainstream (low socioeconomic status) children's use of literacy materials during their free play. Subjects, 17 children, one teacher, and one assistant teacher in one session of a Head Start located in the downtown of a small midwestern city, were observed during seven free play periods over 5…

This study compared the quality of preschool children's sociodramatic play in classrooms that used centers for housekeeping role play with those that used centers for various other types of role play. Classroom play sessions in the preschool were videotaped biweekly over the course of the 1992-1993 academic year. These videotapes were then…

The study compared play among five groups of children (ages 3-7 years): normal children (N=41); those diagnosed with language delays (N=241), those with autism but normal intelligence (N=71), those with autism and mental retardation (N=97), and those with nonautistic mental deficiency (N=86). Each child was evaluated using a 25 minute structured…

Well meaning parents and teachers often use children's play for the purposes of literacy and socialization. Yet, these attempts may deny play to children by subordinating play to some other concept. Evidence shows that even when parents play with their very young children they generally play games like shopping, cooking, and eating; whereas when…

Two studies were conducted to determine the effects of specific learning centers on preschoolers' functional uses of language. It was hypothesized (1) that different centers would elicit different functions of language and (2) that contexts which promote fantasy play would elicit more multifunctional utterances than would other contexts. In the…

The primary purpose of this master's thesis is to describe some therapeutic uses of dramatic play with the mildly aggressive preschool child. The child for whom the suggested play interventions are considered appropriate is characterized by sociality and attachment to both peers and adults, and is not chronically aggressive. After the first…

This paper presents an overview of the development of play in children from 9 to 34 months of age, focusing specifically on those aspects of play which occur with sufficient consistency to function as markers for judging developmental progress in clinical populations of young children. A procedure for assessing the sophistication of spontaneous…

This longitudinal study of changes in play behavior in preschool children reports decreases in less mature forms of play and increases in more mature forms of play over time. The study was designed to test the assumption that the play of young children develops in a progressive manner. Ten 3-year-olds and ten 4-year-olds were observed during free…

The primary purpose of this book is to provide a practical working handbook for teachers and therapists. Chapter one is a general discussion of drama, with emphasis on its relevance to therapeutic work. Chapter two offers practical suggestions for starting a therapeutic session and for creating and extending specific environments. Chapter three…