Research Findings: Peer play interactions are important contexts for supporting early learning both at home and at school for preschool children from low-income backgrounds. The current study used structural equation modeling to examine whether teacher-reported learning behaviors in the classroom mediated the relationship between parent-reported…

Background: Teachers are responsible for developing and enhancing communication skills amongst young learners. Unfortunately, the overly structured pedagogy which many teachers adopt inhibits the optimal development of oral communication skills. Hence, the researchers investigated ways of strengthening group-work play-based pedagogy to stimulate…

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of inclusive play and special movement education applied to disadvantaged and peer preschool children in Erzurum city center on their basic skills. 22 students (10 disadvantaged children + 12 peer group children) consisting of disadvantaged children and peer children who were educated in…

Supporting language skills for children who evidence delays in preschool is an important area of focus for school-age reading outcomes. Two preschool teachers were trained to implement a play-based language intervention, Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT), with children from low-income households with delayed language skills. A multiple-baseline…

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…

In August 2017, almost a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape violence and persecution in Myanmar; 55 percent of them were children. BRAC, one of the largest nongovernmental organizations in the world, operates an initiative called the Humanitarian Play Lab model for children ages 0-6 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.…

Mobile learning techniques have brought the potential of scaffolding information in real-world context that allows learners to interact more actively with their learning content. In this study, we present an interactive learning approach that allows learners to interact with their learning content in real-world context. With learning environment…

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,…

Play is a central discourse in policy and practice pertaining to young children's learning, development and well-being in many countries around the world. Dominant ways of understanding and advocating for play often construct universalising notions of children and childhood, overlooking that play is always-already culturally situated and…

Children have mathematical understanding beginning from the early years of life. Mathematics education during these years has a significant effect on children's future lives. Play is a significant issue in children's lives and can be used as a way for teaching and learning. It presents a rich learning environment. In this study, therefore, we…

This report offers insight into a reflective and critical practitioner's role in carefully planning an environment that reflects young children's need for independence. Education as an agent of liberation is the key to the child obtaining that freedom and achieving independence. It is argued that liberation can only be achieved when an effective…

Children's play experiences have a profound impact on all areas of their growth, learning, and development. Play Today: A Guide for Families describes ideas and examples of quality play experiences that can be offered to preschool and school-age children by their families and caregivers. This guide puts a focus on play-based learning for children…

Pretend play is a quintessential activity of early childhood, and adults supply children with many toys to encourage it. Do young children actually prefer to pretend, or do they do it because they are unable to engage in some activities for real? Here we examined, for nine different activities, American middle-class preschoolers' preferences for…

Teaching assistants are a common presence in pre-kindergarten programs, but their role and the dynamics between lead teachers and their assistants are understudied. The classroom behaviors of lead teachers and assistants from 80 public prekindergarten classrooms were examined for similarities and differences in their roles and to determine how…

In preschool, numbers and shapes typically appear as separate topics. This study explores how a game, designed as a guided play activity with figurate numbers, functions in a preschool context. The guided play involved parking Lego cars in a rectangular shape, and to find out for which number of Lego cars this is possible. Thirteen preschool…