Purpose: Play and playful literacies shape essential spaces for belonging, connection, transformation and joy: from embodied immersions into fantasy worlds, to the creation of interest-led groups overflowing with varied knowledges and identities, and the disruption of societal hierarchies through roleplayed restorying. Yet, theorizations…

Having an imaginary companion (IC) is a fascinating example of children's imaginative and pretend play. However, there are inconsistencies in the reported prevalence of children's ICs. This study examined how culture may affect this prevalence. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess whether the culture, as well as age, assessment method, sex, and…

This article reviews the theoretical and empirical literature in the area of pretend play as a predictor of adult creativity. There is strong evidence that processes expressed in pretend play are associated with measures of creativity, especially with divergent thinking. There is some evidence from longitudinal studies that this association is…

In the early childhood education literature, a growing number of studies have referenced "digital play." Many of these studies seek to describe how young children play with digital devices, notably, how they engage with different kinds of apps. This work collectively illustrates a range of play behaviours where a number of important…

For more than two decades, research has focused on the understanding of pretence as an important means for young children to conceptualise the mind. Many use the phrase "mental representation" to a mental model of some entity or concept, which describes what is inside the minds of young children in relation to a real-world situation or…

This review article starts with an overview of changing education paradigms and the literature on cognitive and linguistic relationships in imaginative play related to comprehension of oral and written texts. Strategies for developing the cognitive and linguistic foundations for text comprehension through play are described. A review of current…

What the ultimate goal for education is to help students develop their capabilities and in turn to maximize their potentials into practical uses in everyday life. In fact, teachers are critical resources at their disposal to facilitate maximum students learning experience and to release students' potentials in classrooms. It is believed that…

In this literature review, we examined 30 years of play-literacy inquiry through a quantitative lens in order to identify, assemble and summarize studies of sufficient methodological strength to form a corpus of research that encourages meta-analytic thinking. First, a multi-phase search of the literature was conducting yielding 192 studies that…

The purpose of this study was to analyze literature regarding interventions for promoting pretend play in children with disabilities. Sixteen studies were found using experimental designs to evaluate pretend play interventions with children with disabilities. The results were analyzed across the targeted pretense behaviors, participants,…

The authors explore how children's play can support the development of the foundations of mathematics learning and how adults can support children's representation of--and thus the "mathematization" of--their play. The authors review research about the amount and nature of mathematics found in the free play of children. They briefly…

Theorizes that dramatic play involves and can potentially develop the three conditions that promote and characterize creativity--interaction, transformation, and imagination. Notes that children involved in dramatic play are enhancing their creativity and potential for creative work. (TM)

Untutored dramatic play (free, undirected play) and tutored dramatic play (creative drama) involve interaction, symbolic transformation, and imagination as children enact roles in imaginary situations. Both types of play serve the child's artistic, emotional, and intellectual needs. They differ in the degree of spontaneity, consistency of play,…

This article reviews the empirical evidence of difficulties in pretend play in children with autism. Data indicate individuals with autism have a marked difficulty in producing pretend play, a difficulty that is reduced by providing substantial structure to the play situation or by testing comprehension of pretense. (Contains references.)…

Discusses the concepts of play and imagination and how these shape personal development and the knowledge gained through experience with reading and writing. (SRT)

Provides a critical overview of research on play and cognitive development and an analysis of the two major theoretical frameworks (from Piaget and Vygotsky) that have informed it. Outlines the key features of a more powerful research perspective that defines and shapes the context of play as a social activity. (Author/BB)