The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of play through the eyes of talented and gifted (TAG) fifth- and sixth-grade students. Three focus groups consisting of fifth- and sixth-grade TAG students were conducted in one urban, one suburban, and one rural school district in the Midwest. Students were asked to describe the value of play…

This article reports a meta-analysis based on a multiple case study of the use of learning study (LS) to understand children's learning in Swedish preschool. The aim is to investigate whether and how the LS model can be developed, adjusted and used to meet contemporary demands placed upon preschool teachers for increased content focus and improved…

iPads, iPhones, Notebooks, X-Boxes, PlayStations, Televisions, Computers. They've found their way into every corner of our lives. Add to that, the pressures of the modern education with standardized tests and crowded classrooms, and it seems that our children have lost the simplicity of childhood. Are our children losing their imagination, too?…

As much as play is researched and discussed by people interested in children and childhood, studies often fail to examine closely the ways that kids accomplish their play. This study sought to answer the question of how children sustain their play interactions. By making use of qualitative methods to collect and analyze data, the play of…

This case study considers pedagogical techniques used in family childcare to promote children's learning experiences. Data extracted from an earlier study were used to inform this examination of four family childcare providers' pedagogy. In the current study, I use socio-cultural theory and the Reggio Emilia approach to address the following…

Many physical educators have asked "how do I help my students become skilled?" Most would likely respond with one word, "practice." Teachers' belief systems tell them if students practice sufficiently the product of more skillful play will be attained. It's likely that students believe this too. They know that in order to play the game better,…

Recent interventions have focused upon play dates as a means to improve friendships. However, no measures have been published which quantify play date quality. An important characteristic of play dates in this regard may be the amount of conflict. We present the development of such a measure. We compare maternal reports of play dates for 112…

The modern ideal of international cooperation, which it is desired to incorporate in the future education of the young, is based on the two main principles of solidarity and justice. In this essay, the author discusses two aspects on the problem of solidarity: (1) moral aspect; and (2) intellectual aspect. In connection with the moral aspect, the…

The article reports on a recent survey of 334 settings in a county in the South West of England and five case studies exploring current practice and aspirations for learning outdoors for children between the ages of 2 to 11. Practitioners' aspirations for outdoor learning appear to go beyond providing fresh air and "letting off steam"…

This study examined how child temperament was related to parents' time spent accessible to and interacting with their 2-year-olds. Bivariate analyses indicated that both fathers and mothers spent more time with temperamentally challenging children than easier children on workdays, but fathers spent less time with challenging children than easier…

Children with selective mutism (SM) present unique challenges for teachers. Typically, children with SM have such an immense anxiety associated with being seen or heard speaking they fail to speak inside the classroom and particularly with teachers. This article reports on the effectiveness of a small-scale exploratory study involving 22…

This study evaluated the influence of language of implementation on functional analysis outcomes for a child with a severe intellectual disability from a Spanish-speaking home. Challenging behavior was assessed during 5-min sessions under 4 conditions; attention, play-verbal, play-nonverbal, and demand and across 2 phases; implementation in…

This article presents a speech by John S. Westefeld, president of the Society of Counseling Psychology, Division 17 of the American Psychological Association. In his speech, Westefeld thanked the members for the opportunity of being able to serve as president for the past year and shared how he entered the field of counseling psychology. He also…

Two children with autism who engaged in aggression and stereotypy were assessed using common analogue functional analysis procedures. Aggression was maintained by access to specific preferred items. Data on the rates of stereotypy and appropriate play were collected during an extended functional analysis tangible condition. These data reveal that…

This study aimed to directly compare the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) and Video Modeling (VM) in the acquisition and generalization of scripted play verbalizations and actions as well as the use of novel statements or actions in both the training and generalization settings. All five participants were exposed to both conditions…