The relationships that children experience with each other during infancy are often a neglected area of study. Most attention has been paid to infants' relationships with adults. However, children are increasingly spending greater amounts of time in group care and with peers at even the early stages of infancy. In these settings, adults are often…

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…

Myriad studies support a relation between parental beliefs and behaviours. This study adds to the literature by focusing on the specific relationship between parental goals and their communication with toddlers. Do parents with different goals talk about different topics with their children? Parents' goals for their 30-month olds were gathered…

This article draws from the experiences and narratives of teenage activists throughout the Americas in order to add a needed dimension, that of peer political socialization, to the larger political and civic socialization literature. The authors argue that although the existing literature emphasizes the roles and responsibilities of adults in…

The playing of games has been a long standing tradition in physical education. Yet despite its history, the teaching of games within primary physical education lessons remains something of a weakness. This is most evident through a continued focus upon skill acquisition and a lack of fostering of a real "tactical understanding" of game…

As a physical educator in the mid-1980s, Mike came to the author's office with a proposition. Rather than write a research term paper with "X" number of sources properly referenced, a length of "X" number of words, and the correct formula-style structure, Mike wanted to use the "opportunity" to work out on paper a…

String educators must find a way to strengthen the development of rhythmic abilities so that their students play with a steady beat and accurate rhythm. Perhaps it is not what they teach their students as much as the sequence of instruction they use to teach them. String educators teach rhythm only as it pertains to the instrument, either through…

This paper discusses the kindergarten curricula of Norway, Sweden, Japan and New Zealand in terms of whether they recommend or suggest teachers unify play and pedagogy by employing a pedagogy of play. These countries were selected because, while they have to provide for children's right to play, they cover different geographical and cultural parts…

This study examined the sequential relationship between parent attentional cues and sustained attention to objects in young children with autism during a 20 min free-play interaction session. Twenty-five parent-child dyads with a preschool child with autism participated. Results indicated that (a) parent attentional cues that maintained the…

In the autumn of 2007 and spring of 2008 the author performed an adapted version of Dario Fo and Franca Rame's one-woman play "Peace Mom" (retitled for Canadian audiences as "Peace Mum") about American mother and peace activist Cindy Sheehan. The play was performed for University of Victoria Applied Theatre students and also in a number of…

In today's standards-driven climate, some teachers feel that incorporating content standards in the curriculum leads to a non-developmentally appropriate approach to working with young children. In her work as a preschool teacher trainer, the author shows students how something as common as blocks can guide them through each of the curriculum…

This study conducted comparative assessment of friendship in preschoolers with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD, n = 29) versus preschoolers with typical development (n = 30), focusing on interactions with friends versus acquaintances. Groups were matched on SES, verbal/nonverbal MA, IQ, and CA. Multidimensional assessments…

Purpose: This study examined whether theme-related play increased subsequent engagement in storybook reading in preschool children with typical hearing and with hearing loss. Method: This study employed a counterbalanced experimental design. In all sessions, participants engaged in free play first and then were read a storybook. In the…

Because the child's world is a world of action and activity, play therapy provides the psychologist in elementary-school settings with an opportunity to enter the child's world. In the play therapy relationship, toys are like the child's words and play is the child's language. Therefore, children play out their problems, experiences, concerns, and…

The environment at indoor inflatable playgrounds, featuring giant bounce houses and slides, can become an ideal place for children with autism to receive helpful sensations. This is the reasoning behind Sensory Nights hosted by the Autism Society of America and Pump It Up, a national franchise of giant, indoor inflatable playgrounds. The private…