Congregations are called to be communities of belonging. Yet, many churches struggle to meaningfully include children with disabilities and their families in all aspects of parish life. This article addresses 10 dimensions of belonging and their relevance to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in their faith communities. To belong…

Solitude occurs from childhood to old age. In this special issue introduction, we offer a lifespan perspective on matters of solitude with the aim to point to pertinent issues in the field. We propose that solitude serves important functions that may vary across different times in life and that solitude needs to be considered in the context in…

Thinking is a common process. Cognitive ability includes knowledge, memory and metacognition. Knowledge requires memory. These two are inextricably linked. Parents and teachers need to encourage children to take an active role in their learning and show them how to use what they know to the best advantage. Cognition is primarily a mental process.…

In this article, based on a keynote address presented at the 68th OMEP World Assembly and International Conference held in Seoul in July 2016, it is argued that children are more in tune with sustainability than most adults and that both adults and children can benefit from intergenerational dialogue and expanded learning opportunities in…

The authors' aim in this article is to stimulate thinking and a new generation of scholarship on how compassion develops over the life span and may be cultivated to improve individual and societal health, well-being, and interpersonal relationships. The authors discuss conceptualizations of compassion, overview research on the development of…

The purpose of this article is to establish a clear distinction between the concepts of childhood and infancy; this distinction can allow us to observe through the study of biopolitics, the radical changes that differ Foucault's classical analysis regarding children to Agamben's reflections on infancy. In the line of Agamben's theory, the…

Inviting questions about our emotional entanglement in relationship to childhood opens new space to think about how and why we construct the child in the way we do. I propose that the figure of the child stands in for our wishes, regrets and anxieties. And perhaps, one of the reasons we phantasize about childhood is because it can be used as a…

Dances and drum rhythms from African traditions have been integrated into summer camp activities in the United States as a response to the ever-globalized environments in which these camps are located and the diversity of the campers and teachers that they attract. This reflective article draws on critical reflections, observations and experiences…

This article provides information about children's creativity in the People's Republic of China. More specifically, it introduces the Chinese cultural and social background along with the school and family environments as they relate to young children's creativity. The article also provides some suggestions for schools and families to foster…

Culture has an important impact on attachment. This commentary highlights three aspects about culture and attachment in middle childhood: (1) the need to have a more sophisticated consideration of the implication of cultural values, (2) the need to incorporate the role of societal or political ecological contexts, and (3) the need to solve the…

Recent understanding of education and human development recognises the importance of psychosocial factors, particularly personal resiliency, in the academic success of children and youth. This article presents the examination of resiliency within school settings for the purpose of preventive screening, intervention and outcomes assessment. The…

In her work, the author presents the list of children's games (kept in the Brlic Family Archives in Slavonski Brod) from the first half of the 19th century. The list of children's games is in the manuscripts in the files of Ignjat Alojzije Brlic dated from 1830 to 1835. Using this list as an example, the author proves that children's games also…

Many programs in Extension deal with sensitive issues; however, one issue that seems to be comfortably omitted is sexuality education. How can Extension address this issue? This article highlights existing sensitive issues already addressed in Extension programs and offers a challenge to examine the situation for the benefit of individuals,…

Exposure to domestic violence can have significant short- and long-term effects on children and adolescents, including increased internalizing and externalizing behavioral systems, physical health effects including heart disease and diabetes, and a negative impact on school functioning (Delaney-Black et al., 2002; Felitti et al., 1998; Kitzmann,…

The article presents selected results of a reconstructive study on the significance of the peer group for children's educational biography. Based on the analysis of qualitative interviews and group discussions with c. 11-year-old children from different educational milieus in Germany it is first shown how, in general, groups of friends in…