The American Kinesiology Association has constructed an undergraduate core for degree programs that reside in kinesiology-based academic units. Since many Physical Education Teacher Education programs are housed in such units, there is a need to prioritize the areas of the undergraduate core, particularly the place of the scientific dimensions of…

In the 2014 report, "Closing the Achievement Gap Through Modification of Neurocognitive and Neuroendocrine Function: Results from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of an Innovative Approach to the Education of Children in Kindergarten," researchers examined the impacts of "Tools of the Mind" on cognitive and academic…

Transmedia play is a new way to understand how children develop critical media literacy and new media literacies through their interactions with contemporary media that links stories and structures across platforms. This essay highlights five characteristics of transmedia play that make it particularly useful for learning:…

Purpose: Children with autism display marked deficits in initiating and maintaining social interaction. Intervention using play routines can create a framework for developing and maintaining social interaction between these children and their communication partners. Method: Six nonverbal 5- to 8-year-olds with autism were taught to engage in…

In this article, the author outlines Plato's notions of play in ancient Greek culture and shows how the philosopher's views on play can be best appreciated against the background of shifting meanings and evaluations of play in classical Greece. Play--in various forms such as word play, ritual, and music--proved central to the development of…

In an article in the January 2013 "Psychological Review," Lillard, Lemer, Hopkins, Dore, Smith, and Palmquist set out to critique the customary claim that pretend play contributes to healthy child development. Following Peter Smith, they distinguished three possibilities for the impact of pretend play. Pretend play, they proposed, might…

This paper provides an overview of selected academic research literature that underpins contemporary preschool physical education. We highlight and interrogate diverse rationales and beliefs that serve to influence and structure preschool physical education in various forms. We speculate as to how preschool practitioners and children might engage…

The physical and social environment of children in cities is continuously changing. Knowledge about the positive effects of natural play experiences within the child's development is becoming widely known. Affordances of diverse landscape elements and especially loose parts for play in natural environments influence play activities. New concepts…

Research Findings: Pretend play is an essential part of child development and adjustment. However, parents, teachers, and researchers debate the function of aggression in pretend play. Different models of aggression predict that the expression of aggression in play could either increase or decrease actual aggressive behavior. The current study…

Intensive behavioral intervention for young children diagnosed with autism can produce large gains in social, cognitive, and language development. Although several studies have identified behaviors that are possible indicators of best outcome, changes in performance are typically measured using norm-referenced standardized scores referencing…

A computerized attention-training game system has been developed to support attention training for school-aged children. The present system offers various types of computer games that provide training in different aspects of attention, such as selective attention, sustained attention, and divided attention. The N-tier architecture of the Web-based…

Oxytocin seems associated with parenting style, and experimental work showed positive effects of intranasally administered oxytocin on parenting style of fathers. Here, the first double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject experiment with intranasal oxytocin administration to fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is…

The current study evaluated the effects of a teacher-conducted play intervention on preschool-aged children's compliance in child care settings. Study participants included 8 children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years and 5 early childhood education teachers within 5 classrooms across 5 child care centers. A combination ABAB and multiple baseline…

Self-regulation is the ability to control one's thoughts, actions, and emotions. When children are better able to follow directions or control impulses they are better prepared for school and for life. Sesame Workshop has and continues to create rich, meaningful content that places self-regulation skills and the strategies needed for school…

A popular social discourse in the United States is that play is important for children's learning and that parental involvement maximizes play's learning potential. Past research has concluded that parents who hold this view of play are more likely to play with their children than those who do not. This study investigated the prevalence…