Early childhood educators in the United States and worldwide face the growing challenge of "schoolification,"--the imposition of conventional academic content from later grade levels into their classrooms (e.g., Ring & O'Sullivan, 2018). The science of learning offers a different approach with evidence to support more active,…

The current study sought to explore play therapists' barriers to engaging parents in their clinical work as well as understand the relationship between play therapist characteristics and their attitudes toward parents. Using a demographic questionnaire, Therapist Barriers to Engaging Parents (TBEP), and the Counseling Self- Estimate Inventory…

Professional identity development of play therapists is an emerging topic of research. Though there is research on theoretical orientation development, there is no research on theoretical orientation development of play therapists. This constructivist grounded theory study aimed at developing a substantive model describing the process of…

This study explored options for pedagogical photo documentation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) practices to hear the voices of children, parents, and guardians in ways that make developing the documentation manageable for practitioners. Two Japanese kindergartens participated in an action research project entitled 'Wall Newspapers…

"Pashe Achhi" is a telecommunication model that emerged out of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh to provide support to 0- to 5-year-old children and their caregivers through mobile-to-mobile phone calls. It is a caregiver-child facing and/or only caregiver focused, low-resource, low-tech model that constitutes a 20-minute phone call.…

Research exploring the influences of cultural experiences, future imaginations and aspirations on the formation of pedagogy among immigrant Early Childhood (EC) educators remains scarce. This collaborative autoethnography (CAE) is about the first author's pedagogical journey. Educated and trained in India as an EC educator, the stories shared in…

Background: Poetry predates all other genres of literature, and it has been argued that the relationship between poetry and language is inextricable. The ability of African people to articulate their own stories was largely silenced by colonialism. Poems and lyrics have been known to create a bridge between individuals in meaningful words and…

Multi-sensory environments are widely used with autistic children. However, there are no data on how autistic children choose to spend time in the room and how this relates to their sensory, behavioural and intellectual profiles. We observed the frequency and duration of visits to multi-sensory environment equipment of 41 autistic children during…

The goals of the current study were: 1) to modify and expand an existing spatial mathematical language coding system to include quantitative mathematical language terms and 2) to examine the extent to which preschool-aged children used spatial and quantitative mathematical language during a block play intervention. Participants included 24…

Undertaking cognitively stimulating activities over the course of life, such as playing brain games (BGs), is only possible if they continuously deliver a playful as well as playable experience. The understanding of how these subcomponents of experience (i.e. playfulness and playability) get influenced in both modes (single vs. two-player) of…

Using a drawing-based research approach, this qualitative study explored in-service infant teachers' reflections on their play experiences and ways of supporting and scaffolding infants' play at a childcare center in Korea. The participants engaged in a drawing task that illustrated their reflections and memories of their play. They then discussed…

Play is essential to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they explore new roles, try out new ideas, and bond with each other. Play increases language, cognitive, and social skills. How can the power of play be harnessed and shaped for educational purposes? How can teachers infuse play into the classroom to improve…

From a social constructivist perspective, learning happens by way of engagement with other people and with objects in the environment, often through a process of play and exploration. The notion of tinkering illustrates this mode of creative play, which is relevant not only to youth learning but also to educators' professional learning. In this…

The home environment and experiences before a child enters formal schooling have a significant impact on their educational progress and results. Most research in this area has been conducted in Western countries and may differ across different countries and cultures. The purpose of this study is to investigate how literacy skills are developed in…

Digital devices such as iPads are prevalent in children's play from an early age. How this shapes young children's play is an area of considerable debate without any clear consensus on how different forms of play are brought into the iPad interaction. In this study, we examined 98 play activities of children in two preschool settings, featuring 2…