For over 30 years, children have been accompanying their mothers to women's refuges. We now know that these children are at risk of developing an array of behavioural and psychological difficulties. We also know the importance for children of keeping active and playing while at the refuge, and to be given the possibility of addressing and dealing…

This article investigates interventions in the gutter play of British working class children in the first decade of the 20th century through their re-location within Free Kindergartens. In contemporary literature, the street child was viewed through a binary lens, as both "at risk" and "as risk", reflecting wider societal…

We examined middle-class Israeli preschoolers' cognitive self-transformation in the delay of gratification paradigm. In Study 1, 66 un-caped or Superman-caped preschoolers delayed gratification, half with instructions regarding Superman's delay-relevant qualities. Caped children delayed longer, especially when instructed regarding Superman's…

In this study, we explored a new experimental methodology for investigating children's (ages 10 to 14) stances with respect to the ethics of online identity play. We used a scenario about peer identity misrepresentation embedded in a 3D virtual game environment and randomly assigned 265 elementary students (162 female, 103 male) to three…

Millions of children and adults devote much of their leisure time to playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Most observers commonly categorize computer games as a play activity, but this article asks whether MMORPGs contain activities that might not be play. The author examines the phenomenon of online gaming and…

In this article, the author describes the empirical studies that have investigated whether play (mostly social play) is rewarding. He then discusses the brain circuits and neurotransmitters that underlie the pleasurable aspects of play. He concludes that the pleasure of play has the ability to reinforce learning activities and that the brain's…

When most people talk about how to improve education, they tend to focus only on what happens in the classroom. But the most unexpected opportunity to boost learning lies outside the classroom: on the playground at recess. A new, first-of-its-kind Gallup poll reveals that elementary school principals overwhelmingly believe recess has a positive…

Play is an important part of a child's life and essential to learning and development (Vygotsky, 1978). It is vital that students participate in play and that play be conducted in a restorative manner. Play allows a variety of group dynamics to emerge. Irvin Yalom (1995) identifies 11 curative factors of the group experience. These factors include…

Videogames are a powerful medium that curriculum designers can use to create narratively rich worlds for achieving educational goals. In these worlds, youth can become scientists, doctors, writers, and mathematicians who critically engage complex disciplinary content to transform a virtual world. Toward illuminating this potential, the authors…

Animal- and bird-becoming is an aspect of play as metamorphosis connected to spirituality in early childhood settings. The reconceptualisation of play presented here is supported by research that explored the spiritual experiences of young children in different early childhood contexts. Qualitative case study research carried out in Aotearoa New…

The current study employed an adapted alternating treatments design with reversal and multiple probe across participants components to compare the effects of traditional video priming and simultaneous video modeling on the acquisition of play skills in two children diagnosed with autism. Generalization was programmed across play sets, instructors,…

From a sample of 419 college students, 750 written recollections were obtained regarding their parental and nonparental childcare experiences. Vignettes were sorted and coded according to five emerging themes: emotional valence, play, TV, educational activities and holidays/birthdays. Several significant differences were found in remembered…

This essay explores an analogy: A well-played soccer game has much in common with a well-taught lesson or course. Aesthetic pedagogy, as conceived by Dewey, Gadamer, and contemporary theorists and practitioners, is set alongside the world's favorite sport, including events from the 2006 World Cup and the autobiography of Pele. The discussion moves…

Based on a significant increase in correspondence to the author from parents, teachers and psychologists concerning "addiction" to online video games like "World of Warcraft", this paper provides a brief overview of the main issues surrounding excessive video game playing among adolescents. As an aid to educational psychologists, and based on two…

As part of an NCETM project, the author is involved with three local schools investigating how engaging in role play might aid children's mathematical development. The project embraces children ranging from part-time Reception to Y4. In this extract, two Reception-age girls, Rachel and Connie, are playing in their classroom spacecraft, and need a…