The purpose of this study was to examine how paraprofessionals and other service providers participate in co-teaching with a certified special education pre-Kindergarten teacher during dual language (DL) instruction. The study took place in two DL special education preschool classrooms located in an urban public school district in the southwestern…

This study examined children's use of narrative strategies and social purposes in dramatic play through a sociocultural theoretical lens. We analysed language and nonverbal communication in play scenarios involving 17 kindergarteners and their teacher. Children used language and other communication modes to develop plot, character, and setting.…

We acknowledge the importance of scaffolding during play; thus, the present study explores the ways early childhood (EC) teachers provide guidance during children's socio-dramatic play and how they employ creative drama in their play interactions. Data collection included the play video recordings of an in-service teacher with a drama background,…

This paper proposes that the future is uncertain for many children. Both natural and human-made disasters are adversely affecting the lives of millions of children and their families. An example of an environment-related disaster is cited from Sichuan Province, China, where a massive earthquake killed some 70,000 people in 2008. How the teachers…

In this paper, drawing on Bakhtin's carnival theory, I argue that teachers can play a transgressive role--similar to that of the carnival fool--by taking on a story role and by interacting with the children in the drama convention of Teacher-in-Role. The carnival notion of 'decrowning-crowning' allows me to understand how the teachers disguise and…

A speech-language pathologist and former primary teacher who is now a researcher conducting action research with kindergarten teachers in northern rural Canadian classrooms collaborate in an analysis of one teacher's interactions with her students in a dramatic play center. We use three principles to show how the teacher supports children's…