It is proposed that young children may develop a felt sense of God through an attachment to nature that parallels their attachment to significant people in their lives. Children learn through their senses and young children experience a sense of awe and wonder when immersed in nature. Research supports the argument that children who are exposed to…

There is a persistent suggestion that the lack of men who choose to work with young children (0-5 years) is detrimental to children's learning and development. This study analysed whether practitioners believed that men who work with young children adopt specific approaches within a play pedagogy. Practitioner beliefs about how their gender…

The French utopian socialist Charles Fourier is a key figure in Walter Benjamin's "Arcades Project". For Benjamin, one of the most significant aspects of Fourier's utopian vision was its conceptualisation of work as a form of play. According to Fourier it would be possible to build a world around people's inherent desires. In such a…

The author argues that children's books are not, as commonly held, either didactic or entertaining and that successful juvenile literature teaches what Lewis Carroll, who wrote "Alice in Wonderland," termed "mental recreation." Pendlebury contends that learning and play, far from being opposites, can closely resemble one…

The author looks at the psychology of sexuality and its origins in the brain's cortex. She discusses how the cues for desire sometimes overshadow mere physiological cues and how they may be healthy or unhealthy. She argues that understanding the intricate neurochemical and neurostructural workings of the mind and the central and autonomic nervous…

As young children's perspectives are increasingly "taken seriously" across disciplines, the pursuit of authentic and ethical research with young children has become the subject of recent discussion. Much of this relates to listening "authentically" to (or understanding) young children, focusing on research design, ethics,…

Preschool-aged children are not meeting national physical activity recommendations. This study compares preschoolers' physical activity engagement during two different physical activity opportunities: outdoor free play or a structured movement session. Eighty-seven children served as participants: 40 children participated in outdoor free play and…

Nearly everyone who throws a disc associates the activity with fun. Over the years, multiple disc games and activities have been invented, combining fun and learning. These are games that many individuals are likely to continue playing long after they have left school and are worthy of being included in a contemporary physical education program.…

In this case study I explored the dilemmas of three early childhood care and education (ECCE) teachers in a poor community in the Cape Flats of Cape Town, South Africa during COVID-19, and how they used these dilemmas to transform their teaching. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and data was collected through a…

The quality of early childhood programs plays a crucial role in improving outcomes for children. Play-based practices are considered a vital component in early childhood development as they offer opportunities for children to learn and grow. Despite this, the field is still trying to understand the role of teachers in facilitating play and their…

Myanmar is dealing with a protracted learning crisis in areas of the country where the COVID-19 pandemic was compounded by a coup in February 2021, which extended school closings. Save the Children created the Catch-up Clubs (CuCs), an intervention that supports children's remedial learning and addresses barriers to their successful return to…

"Many kindergarteners struggle to master the foundational behaviors that enable them to successfully engage in classroom learning" (Cameron, et al., 2012, p 1229). As a school-based occupational therapist, there has been a noticeable rise in concerns from kindergarten teachers regarding the fine motor, visual motor, self-help, and…

Supporting children's schemas in play-based activities and curricula are a valued and embedded part of early childhood practice in many education systems (Meade, A., and P. Cubey. 2008. "Thinking Children, Learning About Schemas." Berkshire: Open University; Nutbrown, C. 2011. "Threads of Thinking Schemas and Young Children's…

This study aimed to examine the effect of attachment security in 17-month-olds on their peer play interactions and behavioural problems at ages 4 and 6 years, respectively, in Korea. By employing structural equation modelling, we analyzed the data of 183 children and their mothers, which were extracted from the Panel Study on Korean Children…

Aiming to inform teaching practices and understand cultural differences, we examined praise practices of high- and low-quality preschool teachers in China. As part of a broader project, we purposefully selected three high-quality and three low-quality teachers based upon their Pre-K CLASS ratings and self-reports, and conducted qualitative…