Forest School in England is the practice of young children playing outside, rooted in the outdoor kindergartens of Scandinavia and more especially Denmark. Using observation and semi-structured interviews with children and adults in two settings, this case study approach allowed an in-depth look at where, how and what children played in a Forest…

This paper focuses on children's perspective on their outdoor play environment. The research took place in settings with designated disadvantaged status--in the backyards of Przedmiescie Olawskie--a small district of a large city of Wroclaw, Poland. The research aimed to reveal dimensions of children's perception and understanding of studied…

The ideal period for implementing environmental education or education for sustainability is during the early childhood years. The educational context of playgroups can be a platform for both children and their parents to learn together and together engage in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), however there is a paucity of…

Despite the proliferation of play-based and arts-informed research, an under-explored area is using both with young immigrant children to hear from them about their distinctive experiences and complexities. This paper draws on an arts-informed and play-based case study with two young immigrant children in Canada to highlight specific data…

Scientists have long employed puppets in research with young children; this essay explores the validity of this practice. After considering what puppets are, their main types and history, I note the different ways puppets have been employed in research. One of these uses raises the issue of whether and when children apply their theory of mind to…

In this article, the author introduces a series of socially engaged practices conducted between April 2019 and August 2020. In this project, titled "Project Superhero," children made meaning and projected their wishes through pretend play as superheroes. Their superhero gadgets were semiotic resources helping to reveal the children's…

Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is an empirically endorsed approach for children facing specific clinical concerns and life circumstances alike. The majority of research to date has accrued data about clients from secondary sources, such as adult report and observation. The purpose of this study was to explore children's perceptions of…

This paper captures thinking around the design of a technology-focused play space for children that is on a university campus. Drawing upon characteristics of play and the importance of the goals and values that shape contexts, the opportunity to develop a space designed for children's digital play required careful conceptualization. Children's…

Following a report from the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child Monitoring Group in 2017 noting that in Aotearoa New Zealand children's views were not being sought in matters regarding their school, play and feelings of safety, the Children's Commissioner conducted research with school-aged children seeking their related…

While children's rights "to" play is stated in the UNCRC, this study investigates children's rights "in" play through an analysis of narrative play in preschool. Play-responsive early childhood education and care (PRECEC) is a recently developed theory that provides analytical tools for investigating participants' communicative…

This research was carried out with the aim of revealing the relationship between preschool children's biophilia (BF: innate tendency to connect with nature) levels and psychological resilience (PR) in the context of age and gender variables. The sample of the study consists of 202 children aged between 48-72 months selected from preschool…

This article focuses on how children, independent of abilities, create healthy identities and spaces in kindergarten, and is based on a qualitative CGT-study carried out in Norwegian Kindergartens. Data sources include Life-form interviews with 24 children, with and without disabilities. Children placed health in the context of their daily-life…

This study aims to examine the views of mothers regarding plays and toys which are of great significance also for children with intellectual retardation and learning disability. This study was conducted through a mixed method by using qualitative and quantitative methods together. Seventy-five mothers who participated in the study were chosen by…

We examined 6- to 9-year-olds' (N = 60, 35 girls, 34% White, 23% Hispanic, 2% Black/African American, 2% Asian/Asian American, 22% Mixed Ethnicity/Race, 17% Unavailable, collected April-September 2019 in Providence, RI, USA) first-person perspectives on their exploration of museum exhibits. We coded goal setting, goal completion, and behaviors…

Although research supports play for children's learning and development, many teachers and schools do not support play or relinquish it to recess or "If time." Teachers need to experience how they learn through play to advocate for play in their classrooms. It is not enough to say, "play is learning"; they need to learn through…