Parental involvement in play has long been an essential piece of healthy child development and wellbeing, yet when it comes to digital play, parent-child relationships are often characterized by conflict and stress. This research explored the relationship between parental involvement with children's digital game play, digital game design, and…

This study explored the impact of Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) on focus, engagement, and time-on-task learning behaviors among 8- to 10-year-old students. Grounded in Csikszentmihalyi's Theory of Flow, the study utilized a quantitative experimental design to compare DGBL experiences with alternative instructional strategies through learner…

This program was developed to offer caretakers information and support in their role as gatekeepers for their children and preadolescent's consumption of technology. Information is offered via psychoeducation, research, and statistics concerning the trajectory and effects of unsupervised, passive, excessive, and/or counteractive interaction of…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges in socialization and communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviors or interests across development (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Youth with ASD have an increased risk for developing anxiety disorders (Mattila et al., 2010). Anxiety…

Impaired social functioning in individuals with ADHD has been well-documented as early as the preschool years and often persists into adulthood. Existing treatments for ADHD are effective for improving the inattention, impulsivity and overactivity characteristic of the disorder, but they have limited effectiveness at improving social skills. This…

Teaching children to be empathetic is important because empathy is linked with positive social behaviors, future academic success, and the development of work-related skills. Children's relationships with nature can help to establish their values and relationships with other people. The purpose of the study, based on empathy theory, was to…

This study discusses the results of a content analysis of 75 Latina biographies for primary and pre-adolescent students that were published over a 16-year period, spanning from 1995 to 2010. Significant to this study was how Latinas were represented in the biographies and what changes can be seen over time. Using a rubric based on research by…

Rooted in sixteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in the inner city Neapolitan neighborhood of the Quartieri Spagnoli, this dissertation analyzes the sociocultural and linguistic lifeworlds of five- to twelve-year-old girls as they grow up amid urban poverty. The dissertation demonstrates how Quartieri Spagnoli girls learn and deploy…