Reviews the history and purposes of the Association for Childhood Education International. Emphasizes the importance of play as the child's first expression of continuity. Points out that Confucius' concepts of teaching are universally practical and that his philosophy is carried out today in Taiwanese schools. (Author/RH)

Results indicated that a classroom with a low teacher/child ratio and partitioned special play areas facilitates peer interactions and fantasy play among middle-class, preschool children. (Author/DB)

As an example of the insights into creativity and cultural influences which may be gained by analyzing children's spontaneous play, the authors present a case study from Jamaica, where they observed young boys making their own toy trucks. (SJL)

A checklist for assessing young children's individual needs by observing them at play. (CM)

Cognitive consequences of play and exploration were examined by assigning 36 economically disadvantaged preschoolers to one of three treatment conditions: sociodramatic play training, exploration training, and free-play control. (MP)

Describes the findings of a content analysis of 64 picture books on play themes for elementary school children. The books were analyzed to determine who was playing (sex of child or adult; ethnic group membership) and why (play for fun, for social benefits, or for self-enhancement). (SS)

Caretaking of children by siblings, cousins, or other peers is widespread in most developing nations. The influence of peers as mediators of social change cannot be underestimated. (RH)

Informally reports findings of a teacher survey calling for information concerning the prevalence and general characteristics of children's interest in dinosaurs. (RH)

This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a therapeutic motor development program based on a games analysis model for reducing feminine game choices in emotionally disturbed boys. (MM)

Describes use of play crates, containers holding items that connect activities to a particular theme, in the outdoor classroom. Describes using crates to plan more creatively, enhance children's independence, and build spontaneous and individual interests. Provides direction in assembling and implementing play crates, and extending outdoor…

Used Lausanne Triadic Play paradigm to examine the stability and predictive validity of cooperative, moderate, collusive, and disordered triadic family alliances during play in infancy. Triadic alliances describe families' fulfillment of functions of participation, organization, focal attention, and affective contact during play. Found that…

Investigated relations among child and classroom factors, and observations of 48 typical and 22 special-needs preschoolers in teacher-directed group play. Found girls were more likely than boys to play cooperatively in teacher-directed groups; special-needs children were more likely to play with a teacher and less likely to play cooperatively with…

Two experiments examined effects of play group composition (segregated or integrated), type of play materials, and group size (2 or 4 children) on language use of 24 preschool children with disabilities. Group composition and type of play materials had no significant effects. Group size had a significant multivariate effect on utterance rate and…

Discusses the psychological influence and adverse health effects of political terror and community violence on the minds and bodies of children. Claims that a posttraumatic assessment of these children is a critical dimension of clinical treatment. Proposes a treatment approach to alter the child's cognitive theories of self, trauma, and world.…