The objectives of the research were to investigate a creative learning promotion activity package for 30 Thai seven-year-old, first-grade school students. Secondly, to design a creative learning promotion activity package, followed by an assessment of the creative learning development process from a series of creative learning promotion…

Delays in oral language development in early childhood can be an indicator for later reading disabilities and affect students' overall school success through high school. Fortunately, there are research-based approaches to help young students at risk for reading disabilities make long-term improvements in their vocabulary development skills. This…

This multi-sited ethnographic case study documents a second-generation Korean immigrant child who engages in regular border-crossing experiences between the U.S. and South Korea, his father's country of origin. Pairing a transnationalism framework with the concept of funds of knowledge, this study examined how border-crossing experiences and…

Human development theories identify child-initiated play as the primary source of early learning. Accordingly, the role of early childhood educators is to utilise the natural medium of play as a context for learning; an educational approach known as play-based learning. Recently, Western Australia (WA) has experienced an erosion of play-based…

The current study was part of a large project focusing on bilingual development in the preschool classroom context. Its aim was to theorize free play as a social and language learning activity that provides opportunities for young learners to move towards second language production. The role of free play for language development in general, and…

Physical activity--including outdoor motor play--has been associated with learning and brain-related functions and abilities in elementary school children and adolescence. Few studies have been conducted on the relationships between active play and these cognitive processes in preschool aged children. Several investigations have revealed that…

Pointing has long been considered influential in language acquisition. Certain pre-linguistic vocal expressions may hold even greater value in addressing the transition to language. The goal of the present study is longitudinal evaluation of early communicative development, addressing the influence of pre-linguistic gestures and vocal expressions.…

Higher education faculty strive to adopt pedagogical approaches that generate student engagement, motivation, and quality learning experiences. The literature on play has much to offer higher education. However, playful pedagogy remains an uncommon approach in education and is often represented in the literature as a practice utilized for a…

The study investigated the effects of school environment and methods of teaching on language skills achievement of pre-primary school pupils in Edo State. It also investigated the interaction effects of Montessori and played methods and urban and rural environments on pupils' achievement in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Three…

This article investigates the variety of factors that hinder the implementation of play (as defined by western scholars) in Asian preschools. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of policy borrowing, enactment and glocalisation, we analyse three jurisdictions that illustrate distinctive problematics: India, Mainland China and Hong Kong. The…

This article examines how the environment and routines within preschools can support second language use and development. It suggests that certain imitable aspects common to Swedish preschools make the environment suitable for L2 use and development. Data build on a qualitative synthesis of two studies from which typical routine activities where…

Background: Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterised by several typical somatic characteristics and by developmental disabilities with various degrees of severity. Focusing on children with RSTS, the aim of this study was to describe their psychomotor, cognitive, and socio-emotional developmental…

Background: Researchers interested in more playful literacy practices often abandon school-related contexts to instead follow young people to after-school settings, community spaces, social spaces, home environments, and online hangouts. However, play also makes itself visible, even (and sometimes especially) in more formalized learning spaces.…

In early childhood education, playing with friends has long been considered developmentally appropriate and an indicator of a child's growing social competency. 'We are all friends' is a familiar mantra heard in classrooms and playgrounds. For children with a diagnosed disability and their families, inclusive settings offer the promise of play…

This article is based on video observations of three-year-old children's empathic expressions in the context of playful interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions in Norway. The data were analysed within a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, searching for a system of the children's self-initiated empathic expressions…