Knowing how children become oriented to imaginary play can help educators in centres better support development. But how this begins in the first years of life is not well understood. How toddlers transform through their imagination concrete objects (such as play accessories, figurines, and books) to become props in play (placeholders and pivots)…

Over the past few years, digital fabrication has been utilized in technology laboratories to emphasize hands-on learning processes in technology and engineering education. Recent studies indicate that hands-on activities can help students connect with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and develop key skills…

Teaching astronomy to young generations is of great importance because astronomy education helps us to better understand the world we are living in and to find answers to our questions. In this regard, the current study aimed to determine the secondary school 4th grade students' mental models of the astronomer. The current research is designed as…

The aim of this article is to present a wholeness perspective on the relation between creative imagination and children's activity when playing with toys. This is explored through a case retrieved from a 4-month experimental research project, specifically from a social fantasy play session. In order to analyse and examine children's play, the…

In early childhood education and care, Nordic social pedagogy approach is challenged by a learning orientation that often results in unproductive "either/or" thinking. Therefore, based on the two approaches and by analysing several dimensions of Froebel's ideas and prevailing social-historical activity (play) theory, the author deduces…

Education to Theatricality as pedagogical and artistic research is experienced by almost twenty years in Italy in laboratories and projects organized in collaboration with universities, schools, theaters, educational centers, cultural centers, educational and social services, associations. Education to Theatricality is a science that includes…

Introduction: This paper investigates the question of whether or not subjects who are congenitally blind experience greater difficulties mentally in resizing images of objects than those who have low vision or are adventitiously blind. Methods: Two experiments were conducted--one in which subjects were asked to mentally enlarge objects they…

Three studies were combined to test the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the imaginative capability scale (ICS). The ICS was a new self-report measure, which was developed to be empirically valid and easy to administer. Study 1 consisted in an exploratory factor analysis to determine the most appropriate structure of the ICS in a…

Imagination is a powerful engine that can drive people to bring their ideas, dreams, and desires to reality. The imagination constructs stories that lead people to create. Combining imagination with engineering knowledge creates inventions which initially might seem fantastic. The authors provide in this article a brief overview of a successful…

Internationalization of the curriculum provides challenges and opportunities for academic staff and institutions. This article reports on research undertaken in 2010-2011, which engaged academic staff in different disciplines and universities in the process of exploring and making explicit the meaning of internationalization of the curriculum in…

This study, based in Taiwan, aims to explore what psychological factors influence imagination stimulation of education major students, and what the relationship is between these factors and imagination. Both principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to determine the most appropriate structure of the developed…

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the influence of examinations oriented approaches on quality education in primary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to determine effects of examination oriented teaching approaches on learning achievement among primary school pupils in Kakamega County, Kenya. It explored the assumptions…

For marginalised secondary school students, mainstream education may no longer appear to be an inviting place. While proposed solutions to problems of disengagement and marginalisation appear to concentrate on finding ways to coerce students back to mainstream education through, for example, "learning or earning" legislation, this…

Critical creativity is a paradigmatic synthesis linking critical social science with creative and ancient traditions. Our haiku summarises the essence of this three part paper. "Heavy feet of stone" describes the rationale for our creation of critical creativity. "Seeking transformation" sets out the background and methodology for our inductive,…

This article explores the use of active imagination and dialogics as constructs that can be applied reflexively to health care education. Drawing on student data, it discusses some of the primary elements of these ideas, and how they may inform reflection, human inquiry, and pedagogical approaches to personal and professional growth and…