Background: The forest school and nature kindergarten approach to early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been established for well over 50 years in the United Kingdom and across parts of Europe including Scandinavia. One example where the nature kindergarten approach has recently taken a foothold is the Australian 'bush kinder'. Bush…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP), the child's plan to ensure specialized instruction and services, can help deaf and hard of hearing children develop critical literacy skills. Deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to an IEP when they turn 3 years old, and parents and teachers should begin to incorporate foundational literacy…

The neurodiversity movement challenges the medical model of disability by framing neurodevelopmental disabilities as natural neurological variations rather than deficits. Consequently, as discourse on neurodiversity-affirming practices expands, there is a growing imperative for tailored implementation in school counselling. By emphasising client…

This paper explores children's understandings of Acknowledgement to Country practices and Aboriginal knowledges. Guided by the relational lenses of respect, responsibility and reciprocity, we conducted focus groups with children across five Australian early education centres. We found that Acknowledgement practices were evident through recitation…

As countries experience increasing cultural diversity both within and between their borders, contemporary researchers are exploring the connection between culture and children's learning and academic experiences. One important goal is to provide all children with educational experiences that are culturally sensitive, relevant, and effective in…

The objective of this case study was to identify the role of finger gestures in learning mathematics informally during play, especially in sociocultural settings. A mathematical activity involving addition was qualitatively analyzed at a Japanese preschool. We explored how the process of subjectification and objectification contributed to a…

Going down a slide, dancing to music, and pushing someone on a tire swing are more than simply "play activities" or a means to staying physically fit. Engagement in motor play provides important opportunities for preschoolers to develop a variety of skills, including gross motor, social, communication, and cognitive skills. However,…

The COVID-19 pandemic's restrictions for schools and playgrounds threatened children's social and emotional wellbeing. In response, Grade 4/5 students created music-based activities through action research to sustain playground interactions. This study explored the crucial yet fragile playground relationships and the children's determination to…

The purpose of this dissertation was to experiment with qualitative research methodologies while exploring the complexities of doctoral education, research practices, philosophies of inquiry, and other topics intersecting with(in) educational scholarship. My vision for this work was fueled by postmodernist critiques of humanist education,…

The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for K-12 schools during the 2020-2021 school year (e.g., establishing social distancing measures, decisions regarding testing protocols, and transition from in-person to distance learning). Changes in teaching and learning modalities, from in-person to remote learning options, quickly became a reality…

This study examined the effects of group games on female elementary students' cooperation skills. Two classes of elementary female students were assigned as an experimental or a control group. The study used a quasi-experimental method for the evaluation and comparison of cooperation development and administered the Measurement of…

This study examined the direct and indirect associations among imaginational over-excitability, cognitive play processes, affective play processes, and parent-reported creative potential of Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 106 parents of local kindergarten children (43.4% girls, mean age = 60.1 months). Parents reported…

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of play perception on play and physical activities lessons on sensory and behavioral attitudes in the context of the mediating effect of cognitive attitude. In this regard, a hypothetical model was proposed by examining the relationships between the relevant sub-dimensions in line with the…

This article is a chronological description of the author's growth as a teacher, through both her direct experiences with Vivian Paley and the years of their correspondence. Mrs. Paley's qualities as a human being, directly translated into her role as a classroom teacher, are shown to be powerful influences on the author's own development. The…

Wondering if there is more to learn from youth's descriptions of the importance of music in their lives, the authors interviewed 35 youth (aged 12-22 years) using a constructivist grounded theory approach. The data analysis process led to the realization that youth were often describing episodes of play. The researchers synthesized essential…