Being a schoolchild involves academic and social competencies often expressed from the viewpoints of politicians, researchers or parents. This article focuses on pupils' views, highlighting their experiences and reflections and aiming to give the pupils a voice in education. The study is based on data from 39 group interviews with 115 first-grade…

We investigated the role of physical characteristics of kindergartens' outdoor play areas in teacher-rated physical aggression (PAgg) among 423 children followed annually from ages two to four years. We used data from the Behaviour Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study which follows children from southeast Norway, a country where almost all two-…

This article explores children's self-initiated outdoor play and holistic learning in a Norwegian kindergarten. While children's self-initiated play is valued in Nordic ECEC, it is rarely analyzed in relation to holistic learning. To explore how children's self-initiated outdoor play contributes to children's holistic learning in ECEC, we observed…

The aim of the study was to examine differences between Norwegian male and female preschool staff according to physical activity (PA) levels during preschool hours. Using a mixed-method design, accelerometers were used to examine objectively measured PA level among male and female preschool staff, while observations, interviews and questionnaires…

This paper presents a natural experiment using a play situation with specific toys to examine and compare the characteristics of 33 Norwegian-speaking female pedagogical employees' child-directed speech (CDS) and adult-directed speech (ADS). Vowel pitch, duration, format frequency, and vowel space area of the vowels /a:/, /i:/, and /u:/ as well as…

Research concerning play and technology is largely aimed at expanding the knowledge of what technological play may be and, to a lesser extent, examines what happens to children's play when it encounters digital tools. In order to explore some of the complexity in play, this article elaborates on how Latour's concepts of 'translation' and…

This article explores conflicts among toddlers in kindergarten and the impact of toys in these conflicts. The author describes these interactions as part of how children develop and express their citizenship, and argues that staff members should hesitate before interfering with rules in order to prevent such conflicts. This is based on Mouffe's…

For many children living in Northern and mountainous regions of the world, playing in snow is enticing and connotes childhood for many adults. Even so, researchers have paid little attention to children's play in/with snow and ice. This paper aims to contribute to the growing knowledge on children's competencies and child-nature relationships by…

The physical environment in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions provide children with possibilities for play. This study describes a physical environmental intervention aiming to increase the possibilities for functional play in the indoor environment, and its influence on children's well-being and physical activity. The…

Risky play is defined as thrilling and challenging forms of play that have the potential for physical injury and has been linked to development and health benefits for children in the early years. These benefits include risk-assessment skills, increased physical activity and well-being, and promoting social competencies and resilience. Currently,…

Collaboration is an important aspect of social activity associated with young children's digital gameplay. Children organise their participation as they communicate with and support one another, through sharing knowledge and problem-solving strategies, displaying their expertise, encouraging others and creatively exploring possibilities for…

This article explores the relationship between toddlers' (age: 30-33 months) well-being (WB), play (PL), social-emotional competence (SC) and movement skills (MS). Two hypotheses were put forward for testing: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between WB, PL, SC and MS, and (2) toddlers' WB can be predicted from their PL, SC and MS.…

This article focuses on how Early Childhood Education and Care institutions provide for 1- to 3-year-olds' risky play--a previously little researched topic--utilizing data from an exploratory, small-scale study investigating aspects of risky play in the age-group. The main findings describe how three essentially different Early Childhood Education…

The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of toddler childcare in Norway using the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition (ITERS-R; [Harms, Thelma, Debby Cryer, and Richard M. Clifford. 2006. "Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scales Revised Edition." New York: Teachers College Press.]), drawing on a sample of…

This study explored how practitioners interpreted educational practices from the perspective of values in Nordic preschools. Drawing data from group interviews in five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), practitioners reflected on an observational episode about children dressing for outdoor play in a Swedish preschool.…