Increasingly concerns are expressed about the formalisation of early childhood education and the loss of opportunities for children's play in a range of European and European heritage countries. This paper takes up this challenge by discussing, from a cultural-historical perspective, the relations between play and learning in pre-school settings.…

The present case study is inspired by preliminary observations of a young adolescent's use of private speech within pretend play to develop disciplinary knowledge in the home domain. Using audio-recordings of the learner's pretend play as a starting point, followed by informal conversations with her, the parent-as-researcher investigates the…

This article shows how two Latina bilingual teachers provided opportunities for their Latinx students from immigrant families to enact their agency in a highly regulated Head Start bilingual preschool classroom in ways that aligned with culturally sustaining pedagogy. Using video-cued ethnography and data from the Blinded Study, the authors center…

It is widely accepted that play and 'free play' in particular, is beneficial to young children's holistic development. However, there is a lack of evidence of the role that the natural environment can have in relation to young children's play. This study examined the elements of 'free play' of children aged 4-5 years within a woodland university…

As a young teacher, Jane Katch was mentored by Vivian Paley. Katch watched how Paley turned puzzling issues into exciting explorations. Later in her own class, Katch became intrigued by the violent imaginative games that a group of boys were playing. Following Paley's example, Katch immersed herself in trying to examine the play rather than to…

Drawing on evolutionary theory, the author questions which cognitive processes underlie the capacities to play and to pretend play and the degree to which they are present in both humans and nonhuman animals. Considering cognitive capacities not all-or-nothing phenomena, she argues they are present in varying degrees in a wide range of species.…

Through analysis of a video recording of two bilingual siblings playing with rubber ducks, this article explores the concept that imaginative play can serve as a potential site for language shift. The article argues that the siblings use English as a means to 'double voice' (Bakhtin, M. M. (1981[1963]). "The Dialogic Imagination" (C.…

This article discusses the work of Susan Isaacs (1885-1948), the IOE's (Institute of Education), first director of the Department of Child Development. In addition to introducing child psychoanalysis to the UK, Isaacs was instrumental in mapping out the basis for a conceptual understanding of the role of aspects of imagination (which she termed…

There are some studies indicating that parents make a significant contribution to children's conceptual learning through play, whereas very few studies have been done to identify parents' pedagogical positioning in children's imaginative play for supporting their learning and development. This paper is seeking how Indian-Australian immigrant…

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…

Digitalisation and the accompanying transformation processes, involving data, technology and people, are part of children's life and will shape their future. Competences, such as digital skills, as well as creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving are crucial to these transformation processes. In early…

This article is a condensed version of the author's research which explores the relationship between imaginative play and creativity in education, and examines the structures, approaches, benefits, and obstacles surrounding the topic of imaginative play and creativity. The photo collection is a reflection on the ponderings throughout the author's…

An indirect connection between executive functioning and imagination was revealed earlier in the study of pretend play. This study aimed to explore the relationship between imagination and executive functions in children. Two-hundred-six typically developing children aged 6-7 years were assessed with main executive functions (working memory,…

The standby wooden blocks that are prevalent in most high-quality early childhood classrooms are missing from most primary and elementary grades. The goal for block play in early childhood is to support learning in mathematics, science, art, literacy and language arts, physical development, social studies, and social and emotional growth. This…

Research suggests that metacommunication in young children's social pretend play is the most complex form of cooperation. In this study, metacommunication was examined using audio and video recordings during pretend play. Participants were 24 children in kindergarten average age 5.1 years. Utterances were coded for metacommunication, the narrative…