Indicates that highly anxious preschool children reduced anxiety levels through play. Compared with low-anxious subjects, highly anxious children engaged in more dramatic/fantasy play forms. Imaginative qualities which children introduce in their play are more essential to the resolution of the conflict than social forms of play.(Author)

Since evidence indicates that the potential for play must be developed in a child, just as the potential for thinking, it is important that teachers be aware of the need to provide a climate which is conducive to imaginative play. This article suggests steps to be taken in creating such a climate. (Author/NQ)

This study examined the effects of nutritional supplements on the duration and level of spontaneous play of 55 mildly to moderately malnourished toddlers living within the tea plantations of West Java, Indonesia. Infants were randomly assigned by their day care centers to one of three supplement groups: (1) energy and micronutrient supplements;…

Advocates encouraging children to write about what they know best--the rich fantasy worlds they create in play. (Author)

Compares Lodge's (1979) examples of children's use of the past tense in pretend play with examples of the use of other moods and of modal auxiliaries. (AM)

Examined the relationship between dramatic play and creativity from three perspectives: (1) the existing theories related to the association; (2) the research on this issue; and (3) some situational factors of dramatic play related to this relationship. Most of the research supports the relationship between dramatic play and creativity, noting the…

Examined young children's metaplay--the process of suspending actual role playing to think or communicate about pretend themes from outside the play frame. Found three categories of metaplay behaviors, including initiations, responses, and constructions. Concluded that a rich array of developmentally useful interactions transpire outside of actual…

Related to aspects of drama and theatre education, I search beyond the findings about symbolic play set forth by Dr Howard Gardner in "Frames of mind. The theory of multiple intelligences". Despite the inspiration for and solidarity with arts educators that emanate from his theory, I sensed that it did not provide a full picture of the complex…

Play and games are happening-units or behavior-sets of a relatively closed character in space and time. They are distant to the needs and the reality of usual life and follow internal rules. Any game or instance of play requires freedom from external restraints and pressures. Freedom from external restraints and seeking for inner tensions form a…

The dualistic nature of play as solitary and social is discussed using video games, children's play, and major league baseball as examples. (MT)

Child-initiated play lays a foundation for learning and academic success. Through play, children learn to interact with others, develop language skills, recognize and solve problems, and discover their human potential. This brief publication describes the benefits of play, what you can do to help your child play, suggestions on how to become an…

"Early Learning and Development" provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the 20th century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and…

The research on which this paper is based is a response to the UNESCO directive for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2005-2014. Educators are advised to prepare young people for sustainable development and global citizenship and the Arts should be included in programmes in ESD. This paper presents an overview of a research…

We implemented a five-week family program called "Family Quest" where parents and children ages 9 to 13 played Quest Atlantis, a multiuser 3D educational computer game, at a local after-school club for 90-minute sessions. We used activity theory as a conceptual and an analytical framework to study the nature of intergenerational play, the…

This study presents a qualitative description of changes in social and symbolic behaviors in an African-American girl with autism over a period of 10 years (from age 5 to 15 years), with emphasis on ages 9 to 11. The primary purpose of the investigation was to elucidate the process ultimately leading to reciprocal social relations and symbolic…