The current study evaluated the play behaviors of children with disabilities (e.g., developmental delays, specific language impairment) who participated in a social communication intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking. Three children who were enrolled in an inclusive classroom met the…

Environment is an essential area of attention for practitioners who support young children with disabilities and their families. Decisions about the environment impact the quality of care and education for young children with disabilities showing measurable influence on expected outcomes. Environment impacts true access, quality participation, and…

The collection of papers contained in this special issue was elicited by a worldwide call for papers to explore settings that provided nature experiences for young children, with attention given to the effects that these initiatives have on the holistic development and environmental awareness of the children, as well as impacts on the teachers and…

The current study evaluated the peer-to-peer interactions of at-risk children enrolled in Head Start who participated in a social pragmatic intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking skills. Eight Head Start classroom teams received two workshops and two coaching sessions and were taught to…

Drawing on the work of Celia Genishi, this article discusses data from an ethnographic case study of young Latina/o children, starting in their four-year-olds classroom in a Head Start Program through their first grade year in a dual-language program in a public school. The children attended a bilingual Head Start program that followed a…

Since the National Education Goals Panel was convened in 1991, school readiness for all children has remained a high priority across our nation. The Foundations of Learning Framework is a tool to understand what it means for a child to be "ready." Preparation for educational success requires two key ingredients--relationships and play. In the…

This paper sets out to examine the place of theory in preschool education, considering the theories to which practitioners and providers have access and which provide a rationale for everyday practices and shape the experiences of young children. The paper reflects the circumstances of preschool provision, practices and thinking in the UK in…

This study concerns the relationship between learning and play. On the basis of sociocultural theory, some ideas are put forward about how this relationship can be conceptualised in the context of goal-directed practice. Empirical data from primary school with children 6-8 years old are used to illustrate and discuss this conceptualisation. It is…

In March 2012, 30 faculty and 49 students from all over the world met in El Calafate, Argentina, during two intense weeks. It was the second Latin American School for Education, Cognitive, and Neural Sciences (LASchool), sponsored by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. The LA School seeks to critically examine research findings potentially relevant…

Parents and educators tend to have many questions about young children's play with computers and other technologies at home. They can find it difficult to know what is best for children because these toys and products were not around when they were young. Some will say that children have an affinity for technology that will be valuable in their…

Reducing the economic and social burden associated with poor academic achievement represents an urgent concern in South Africa. Increasingly research suggests that child characteristics in kindergarten play an important role in charting courses towards academic success and educational attainment by early adulthood. Although math and reading skills…

One of the author's biggest challenges as a preschool teacher is helping children in a group see and touch and do. Hands-on explorations are important for everyone, but essential for young children. How can young children do hands-on explorations of spiders and their webs? Teachers do not want children handling all sorts of spiders. They worry…

This study investigated early childhood teachers' beliefs about information and communications technology (ICT) and play in preschool, as well as their confidence in integrating ICT in the classroom. A 28-item questionnaire was compiled and administered to 190 early childhood teachers in Greece. Although ICT play (which can provide learning…

While the typical developing children show signs of symbolic play in the first two years of life, children with autism may never develop this skill. This deficit in play has implication for other areas of development. What is more? Play is correlated with language ability in both typically developing children and children with ASD. Play in…

This article describes a didactic experience concerning the interaction between young children and the Continuator, an Interactive Reflexive Musical System (IRMS) elaborated at SONY- Computer Science Laboratory in Paris. The general aim was to analyse whether and how the Continuator can be used in the kindergartner during the daily school…