Strangers, Gods, and monsters are all names for the experience of alterity and otherness within and amongst us. We need monsters in our lives. In this paper we use philosophy as a method to explore language, developmental and cultural instabilities, and terrifying (and discursive) monstrosity located within children's literature and childhood…

While the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) recommends that occupational therapists (OTs) competently respond to changing environments and new clinical practice and research demands (WFOT, 2012), there are many challenges for therapists to engage in professional development in countries where resources and specialized expertise are…

As one typical form of play, play center activities are commonly used in early childhood education programs in China. This study used the Activities Sub-scale of the Chinese Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (CECERS) to measure the quality of the play center activities in K2 (4-5 years old) classroom, which based on a stratified random…

The present study investigated the structural relationships between Korean preschool teachers' work environments, self-efficacy, and children's peer play interactions; it also examined the mediating influence of teacher-child interactions on these relationships. This study performed SEM analysis on 1193 teachers' survey responses from the 2014…

Research demonstrates children's attention, working memory, and behavior improve following a recess or activity break. Longer periods of inactivity are associated with higher levels of inattention; children who are less active have higher rates of disciplinary infractions. Thus, providing physical activity breaks may positively impact student…

Access to play has been recognized as a universal right of children (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31) and promoted by international and national organizations with a focus on children's well-being, such as Childhood Education International, the International Play Association, the US Play Coalition, and the Alliance for…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of creative dance on proprioception, rhythm and static balance in preschool children. The treatment group consisted of 32 preschool children which took part in a creative dance programme that lasted 2 months (twice a week), while the control group (30 preschool children) participated in an…

The primary aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a childcare-based intervention in increasing child physical activity by allowing children unrestricted access to outdoor areas for free-play when structured activity is not taking place. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in six childcare services. Intervention services provided…

Several geospatial approaches have been used to characterize physical activity during recess using global positioning system (GPS) data. GPS and accelerometer data from 23 children collected during recess were analyzed using four previously used approaches: (1) dot map, (2) fishnet grid, (3) hot spot analysis, which determines clusters of high/low…

Qualitative research is an inherently complex landscape which continually presents researchers with difficult, ethically challenging dilemmas. This paper foregrounds some of those challenges, experienced during a qualitative research study which focused on preschool children's opportunities to access different forms of play in early year education…

This article builds upon a tradition of feminist critical engagements with Bourdieu, developing the concept of 'foregrounded history' as a way to conceptualise the temporal and affective in processes of habitus formation. Through analysis of affects 'produced through the social encounter' within everyday childhoods on a British council estate, the…

With the decline in Australian school children's mathematics skills, the spotlight is shining on the quality of early childhood mathematics teaching and learning in the preschool years. Spatial thinking--which includes spatial orientation and spatial visualization--contributes to early mathematical thinking and children have the capacity to…

We reviewed 12 studies in which the researcher taught problem-solving strategies, such as self-questioning and visual imagining, to children and adolescents with and without disabilities to facilitate the learning of math, spelling, play/social, and communication skills. We analyzed these studies in terms of types of problem-solving strategies,…

Applying an eye-tracking technique, we tested early verb understanding in 48 infants aged 9 and 10 months. Infants saw two objects presented side by side and heard a verb that referred to a common action with one of these objects (e.g., eating relating to a banana). The verbs were spoken by the parent in an interrogative manner in order to elicit…

The role of play is critical to the learning process in early childhood education settings. International researches indicate the advancement of children's learning when engaged in active play. However, little research has been conducted in Philippine settings on the use of play in teaching literacy in early childhood education classrooms. This…