Vygotsky (1978) describes play as having three main components, one being the ability for a child to create an imaginary situation, the second taking on and acting out roles, and the third, following a set of rules that were determined by the roles children took on during play during social or group settings. Hence, supporting much needed social…

Drawing on such academic topics as the white racial frame, critical race theory, Black critical theory, and Black male studies, the authors offer Black PlayCrit, a tool focusing on the specificity of Blackness and anti-Black violence in play. Calling for the adoption of Black PlayCrit in future studies, they suggest researchers should consider…

In August 2017, almost a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape violence and persecution in Myanmar; 55 percent of them were children. BRAC, one of the largest nongovernmental organizations in the world, operates an initiative called the Humanitarian Play Lab model for children ages 0-6 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.…

Previous research has indicated that young children's executive functions (EFs) can be bolstered through role-play [e.g. the 'Batman™ effect'; White et al.]. However, what is not clear is whether it is the role-playing of another's perspective, or something about the role played, which is responsible for the Batman™ effect. The current experiment…

Mobile learning techniques have brought the potential of scaffolding information in real-world context that allows learners to interact more actively with their learning content. In this study, we present an interactive learning approach that allows learners to interact with their learning content in real-world context. With learning environment…

Risky play is defined as thrilling and challenging forms of play that have the potential for physical injury and has been linked to development and health benefits for children in the early years. These benefits include risk-assessment skills, increased physical activity and well-being, and promoting social competencies and resilience. Currently,…

The international quality-improvement agenda for Early Childhood Education (ECE) directs attention to maximising children's learning experiences. Yet routines, and particularly those relating to sleep-rest provision, are not well conceptualised as learning opportunities. Often children who no longer sleep in the daytime are required to lie down…

Play is a central discourse in policy and practice pertaining to young children's learning, development and well-being in many countries around the world. Dominant ways of understanding and advocating for play often construct universalising notions of children and childhood, overlooking that play is always-already culturally situated and…

Children have mathematical understanding beginning from the early years of life. Mathematics education during these years has a significant effect on children's future lives. Play is a significant issue in children's lives and can be used as a way for teaching and learning. It presents a rich learning environment. In this study, therefore, we…

Recent studies on English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) classroom interaction have begun to look at the role of translanguaging as a pedagogical practice in supporting participants to exploit multilingual and multimodal resources to facilitate content teaching and learning. The present study contributes to this growing body of literature by focusing on…

This paper introduces the results of applying a gameful approach based on six playful activities as a tool to improve the learning process in higher education. A total of 850 students from different courses of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) were involved in the study. The strategy was evaluated through a participant observation (active and…

"The Creative Arts in Counseling" presents an evidence-based exploration of how expressive therapies can be used effectively with clients of all ages and backgrounds. After an introduction to the history and benefits of using the arts in counseling, Dr. Gladding discusses the therapeutic use of music; dance/movement; imagery; visual…

All students can benefit from a deeper understanding of how our language works. "Playing With Language" shows elementary school educators (K-6) how to think about, talk about, and manipulate language out of context. This cognitive skill set, known as metalinguistic awareness, is an important component of reading ability. This practical…

Aim: To describe the development of an intervention-specific fidelity measure and its utilization and to determine whether the newly developed Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) intervention was implemented as intended. Also, to quantify differences between START-Play and usual early intervention (uEI) services. Method: A fidelity…

Exploring explored principals' and teachers' perceptions concerning the role of play in early childhood programs was this quantitative inquiry. All early childhood participants identified play as a learning tool but noted it was being eliminated from the curriculum due to high stake accountability. There was a significant difference between…