Results of research based on observations of four- and five-year-olds indicate that in pretend play, children acted more mature, played together more, and were more social than in nonpretend settings. Suggestions are offered for classroom activities, for preschool through middle school, that incorporate pretend play. (IAH)

Defines theater as a medium in which students can channel their energies in positive and creative ways. Addresses the issue that major universities should concentrate on training secondary theater teachers rather than performance actors in order to improve theater education at the secondary level. Recommends a unification of the national theater…

The article criticizes a previous article (EC 212 323) on the play behavior of hearing-impaired children in integrated or segregated settings. It notes the use of terminology suggesting author bias against special class or school placement and failure to consider such variables as level of auditory function and availability of manual communication…

Studied the play of 106 Zimbabwean children of 57-84 months to determine how they acquired necessary practical and intellectual skills. Home play activities were ideally suited to the cultural and economic environment of rural communities. (RJC)

Used Brennan Social Background Questionnaire Item Checklist to compare self-reported childhood games, toys, and activities of 214 male and 51 female college freshmen entering the male-dominated engineering and technical science career fields. Results support a possible connection between childhood play activities and later career choices, and…

Describes a class activity demonstrating the reality of revolution to introductory political science students. Student "plants" rebel against a teacher's "injustice," overthrow the teacher when he calls on a higher authority, and mobilize the class to sign a petition. Follow-up discussion covers elements required for revolution. (LS)

Describes differences in the socialization setting provided by all-boy and all-girl play groups, and explores possible reasons for children's tendency to congregate in same-sex groups. Considers three classes of possible explanatory processes: biological factors, socialization pressures from adults, and gender cognitions. (RH)

Interactions of two Down Syndrome child-mother dyads were observed during which the level of maternal responding was experimentally decreased. As the percent of maternal utterances decreased, the percent of child revision behaviors increased significantly. As mothers returned to initial levels of responding, the four-year-olds decreased their rate…

Studies gender patterns in five- and six-year-old children's social interactions with one another and variables that may influence these patterns. Findings suggest that differences between boys and girls in the use of aggravated behavior in interaction style is strongly influenced by the nature of the activity being performed and by the gender of…

The methods of 27 studies focusing on toy play among young children with mental retardation were reviewed. Considerable variability was noted with respect to sample characteristics, contextual parameters, and type of measurement. Researchers frequently neglected to provide potentially useful methodological information. Suggestions for future…

Summarizes three studies on the effects of physical environment on preschool children's play and cognitive development, and discusses implications for classroom design. Notes that size of play area, and the extent to which the size of structures in that area was proportional to children's size, affected the rate at which children entered complex…

Highlights Paley's contributions, particularly her work in developing the vision of the narrative classroom. This vision includes using a combination of acting, writing, and directing to get children to work together and develop ideas in small settings. Paley's methods and insights illustrate these concepts and classroom life in an important way…

Examined variations in mother and father involvement in 100 families whose oldest children were between 3 and 5 years of age. Found that mothers participated in childrearing activities at a significantly higher rate than fathers in both single-earner and dual-earner families. Mothers spent a high proportion of their interaction time in functional…

The relations among specific aspects of language (comprehension, production, semantics, and utterance length), relations between language and symbolic play, and maternal influences were evaluated in mother-toddler dyads when the children were 13 and 20 months of age. Found toddler language ability did not generally predict toddler play and that…

Comparison of 40 children with Down's syndrome and typically developing children (matched for mental age) found that the children with Down's syndrome appeared less engaged in a task, as indicated by shorter sequences of goal directed behavior and higher rates of toy rejection. They also displayed less causality pleasure with object exploration…