The theorisation of digital technologies for play-based settings has received a great deal of attention. However, less is known about how zoom modalities, which are increasingly becoming commonplace at work and in the home, have impacted on the play of children in Family Day Care. Whilst theoretical attention has been given to conceptualising…

Learning about design and learning through design have emerged in the literature and important works show heuristics and matrices for design cognition and design processes. However, few studies have been directed to the early development of design. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that investigated the genesis of…

Although abundant evidence demonstrates that play is the source of development for preschool-aged children in various cultures, few studies have investigated the role of adult-children collective play in supporting the development of children in institutional care settings. This study examined whether and how a play-based programme created…

A substantial number of empirical studies in the field of Early Childhood Science Education have explored science concept formation in early childhood educational settings. Most of these studies focus on the process of science concept formation during a teaching intervention or a school year period. However, less is known about how children form…

As societal needs change and STEM solutions are offered, an increasing concern for the participation of girls in STEM has emerged. Research has consistently shown the unintended preferential treatment of boys by teachers during STEM teaching and, although well recognised, has seen limited change over the past decades. Gendered interactions,…

Eminent scientists, like Einstein, worked with theoretical contradiction, thought experiments, mental models and visualisation--all characteristics of children's play. Supporting children's play is a strength of early childhood teachers. Promising research shows a link between imagination in science and imagination in play. A case study of 3…

In unprecedented times, the global community is calling for greater knowledge and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to support the decision making and practices of the general community. COVID-19 has highlighted this pressing need and inviting a 'new normal'. But STEM is not the core business of early childhood.…

Use of tablet technologies, like the iPad, are now commonly used in families and have become customary in the everyday lives of children. This paper explores how the use of iPads at school influences children's activities at home and how children's activities at school can be influenced by home activities. A case study of one child (aged…

Even though studies of the accessibility of digital technologies in educational contexts have become progressively more extensive, understanding children's motive for play or for learning is essential for identifying the way they relate to touch technology. This research paper seeks to understand the relation between the motive for play and the…

The concept of "perezhivanie" has received increasing attention in recent years. However, a clear understanding of this term has not yet been established. Mostly what is highlighted is the need for more informed theoretical discussion. In this paper, discussions centre on what "perezhivanie" means for research in early…

This article focuses on the "Relational Agency Framework" (RAF), an analytical tool developed for an Australian review and evaluation study of an early years' policy initiative. We explore Anne Edward's concepts of "relational expertise", "building common knowledge" and "relational agency" to explore how…

Depending upon a cultural-historical perspective, where play is defined as the creation of an imaginary situation, this study seeks to examine whether and how family joint creation of imaginary situations can provide the conditions for a child's science learning in early childhood. The paper reported here forms part of a broader study, and the…

It has been reported that in cross-cultural contexts, Western science content is often not used in everyday practice, and the learning of science is often viewed as difficult and having no social meaning (e.g., Aikenhead & Michell, 2011). It is suggested that the cultural relevance of everyday family practices and Western constructions of…

Many studies have identified the positive "link" between imaginary play and emotion regulation in laboratory settings. However, little is known about "how" play and emotion regulation are related in everyday practice. This article examines how families use play as a tool to support young children's emotion regulation in…

How parent-child interaction effectively supports children's bilingual heritage language development in a shared book-reading practice is an under-researched area. The in-depth study reported in this paper examined an episode of one child, a four-year-old girl and her father, reading an English story in Chinese. Approximately 70 hours of video…