There are many dimensions of play and play's significance for children's development and learning is often emphasized, but how do preschool teachers see children's use of computers in preschool? A qualitative study was done with 13 Swedish preschool teachers that had experience working with computers in preschool. The overall aim of this study was…

The aim of this study was to determine: (a) whether children with visual and additional impairments show any non-verbal behaviors, and if so what were the common behaviors; (b) whether two rehabilitation professionals interpreted the non-verbal behaviors similarly; and (c) whether a speech pathologist and a rehabilitation professional interpreted…

Research on French and European American mothers' childrearing practices, and potential effects of these differences on children's behavioral development, is scarce. This study compared 33 French and 39 European American 20-month-old children and their mothers on exploratory, symbolic, and social play and interaction. French children engaged in…

This paper presents primitive states of mind in an adopted child, which had been engendered by traumatic experiences in infancy and early childhood. Vignettes from her therapy illustrate difficulties in learning, speech and interaction, which were inhibiting her relationships with her adopted family from developing. The development of…

This paper challenges notions of gendered game playing practice implicit in much research into young women's involvement with the computer gaming culture. It draws on a study of Australian teenagers playing "The Sims Deluxe" as part of an English curriculum unit and insights from feminist media studies to explore relationships between…

Providing children with a variety of play materials at different levels of challenge and in a variety of interest areas responds to children's individual differences and needs in the classroom. In this book excerpt, the author lists materials for play in the categories social and fantasy; exploration and mastery; music, art, and movement; and…

The paper reminds readers of the importance of "playful talk" in bridging home and school discourses. Through a number of excerpts of bilingual and monolingual children drawn from homes and classrooms over the past decade, it illustrates how school discourse may be taken home and transformed into "home talk" through play.…

This paper outlines research which examined the relationship between drama and writing, detailing the method of enquiry, theoretical foundations and emergent findings. The study sought to understand the nature of the support that drama offers children as writers and to identify features of writing which regularly surfaced in drama-related writing.…

This article presents the Let's Talk project as a different approach to oral language development. This approach was based on observations of classrooms in the Netherlands where children talked at large tables while playing with miniature figures representing people and objects they were familiar with in their daily lives. It was also influenced…

This article presents a brief history of the Berkeley Child Study Center from the establishment of the Institute of Child Welfare in 1928. The authors review the center's more than 75 years of continuous service as a laboratory preschool. With its careful attention to staffing and its philosophy of giving priority to children's free activity and…

There is no one style of parenting which characterizes young mothers as a group. In addition, life circumstances play an important role in shaping maternal behaviour. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of maternal play behaviour and contextual (social and personal) factors associated with these different patterns. In this study, 107…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether introducing schematising to children in early childhood (ages five to six) promotes better learning outcomes in later mathematics (age seven). This was done using a longitudinal, quantitative study with a quasi-experimental design. With the help of teachers and a teacher-trainer, pupils in the…

Potential benefits for learning that the outdoors may hold have been brought into increased focus in the UK by the recent introduction of a manifesto for learning outside the classroom (DfES, "Learning outside the classroom: manifesto"; Nottingham, Department for Education and Skills, 2006). This article draws on two recent studies of…

The historical development of early childhood music education (ECE) in Kenya reveals the challenging circumstances under which it has, and continues, to progress. Poverty remains the most formidable hindrance to the success of this area of education. Multiculturalism, the mosaic that defines Kenya's rich heritage, also demands ingenuity from…

Combining a scientific and a humanistic approach in a series of essays that draw on both clinical and literary data, this book examines how imaginative play begins and how it develops. From the infant's first smiles and peekaboo games to the toddler's exploration of objects and participation in symbolic and social pretend play, the book traces the…