This article is based on multimodal perspectives and contributes to research on how children deal with a multimodal illustration of scientific concepts used in emergent science (i.e., early years science) education. It presents a study of a group of 14 preschoolers observed when dealing with the concept of stability, as illustrated in a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the involvement of early childhood pre-service students (PSSs) in children's constructive play and highlight how this involvement supported children's play skills towards advanced play behaviours as seen by previous literature. Drawing from the conceptual framework of the Zone of Proximal Development, as…

The demographic landscape in the United States is changing rapidly, and early childhood programs are experiencing an increase in the enrollment of Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The current study employed a mixed-methods case study design to explore the impact of creative drama on Head Start DLLs' social and emotional development. Six DLLs…

This article explores the usefulness of detective role-play as a research method to facilitate young children's critical thinking. The study examines four specifically designed detective play experiences, adopting an ethical rights-based approach to research with children. This qualitative multiple-case study is grounded in play-based pedagogy…

Empirical research shows that adults' role in play with infant-toddlers is to provide children with play materials, observe from a distance, and control the surrounding dangers. An international trend to increase children's cognitive skills at a very early age has established a need to better understand toddler's conceptual learning and how this…

Preschool is a critical period for children. They need to develop a variety of skills (e.g., social and emotional skills, cognitive skills, motor skills) that are important for their development between the ages of 3 and 5. Dramatic play provides children with safe environments that allow them to learn and practice those important skills as it…

Early childhood is a time of great creativity. Building creativity into the learning environment should be natural, organic, as observant teachers follow the child. This article provide tools for building creativity through play across the creative arts including dramatic play, movement and dance, music, and visual arts. Additionally, play and…

This study investigated the integration of loose parts into preschool arts education to enhance children's learning experiences, particularly within in-between spaces and centered around music, combining visual arts and dramatic play. Conducted as a case study in a Taiwanese private preschool, the research explored the use of loose parts in art…

Structured and teacher-directed play focused on children's academic outcomes has proven problematic in Indonesian early childhood education. This contrasts with the PlayWorlds model, which emphasises both the primary activity of play and conceptual learning. However, there has been little research in Indonesia on the pedagogical aspects of the…

Dramatic play is a typical activity that provides many benefits for preschool children's learning and development. This paper presents the findings of a mixed-method study that examined the level of preschool children's involvement in dramatic play and the connection between this involvement and the quality of the classroom environment. The study…

Using a content analysis method, this study develops a culturally based inventory of play categories from parents and children reports and explores how such types of play varies in environment and time. A total of 171 parent-child dyads from 13 Hong Kong kindergartens participated in the study. Results reveal that play practices reported from Hong…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of drama activities on the life skills of five-year-old children. Experimental design with pretest posttest control group was used in the study. The sample group of the study consisted of 32 children aged five years who were educated in a kindergarten in Istanbul province in the academic year…

This paper presents the findings of a study conducted with preschool teachers trialling an intervention in which executive function activities are embedded in teachers' daily practices and imaginary play is used to build meaningful problem situations that children solve using executive functions. The participants were 227 preschool children (53%…

Playing is an activity that affects significantly the psychological development and learning in preschool age. Opinions among researchers and practitioners are divided about adults' role in children's play. Despite being a children's activity, high-level, complex social play hardly appears without adult mediation. According to the narrative play…

Values education is central to early childhood education. However, it rarely provides real-life opportunities to engage students. This study investigates the effect of creative drama in acquisition of values by preschoolers. Experimental design with a pre-post-test control group was used. The study group consisted of 44 children aged 5 to 5 ½…