Due to its efficacy shown in early research with children, imagined contact has often been proposed as a school prejudice-reduction intervention. Nevertheless, some of the more recent studies have not been able to replicate the expected effects. This review presents the first systematic examination of the effect of imagined contact interventions…

Education doctoral programs have an essential role to play in this moment of American history, as we train, teach, guide, and prepare education professionals to learn, unlearn, and lead as antiracist education activists. EdD program faculty and administrators sit in critical roles and must examine our own antiracist beliefs, while also…

STEAM is a coupling of the well-known STEM-disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics with the arts. This conception of education builds on the foundations of STEM-curricula but complements it with a focus on innovation, creativity, novelty etc. Those in favor of STEAM education emphasize the importance of this shifted focus…

This essay offers a rationale for deploying ecofeminist science fiction stories as object-oriented thought experiments in science and environmental education, with particular reference to developments in genetics and evolutionary biology, and their implications for human (and more-than-human) reproduction and kinship in the period following the…

This article develops the ideas of perfection and education in Spinoza and Maimonides. Both thinkers identify human perfection with intellectual knowledge and a transformation in affect. They accordingly envision education in terms of enhancing cognition and shaping the desire to know. The first steps are a critical evaluation of imagination and…

People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties mentally simulating events, perhaps due to a difficulty mentally generating and maintaining a coherent spatial scene -- that is, 'scene construction'. The current study compared scene construction ability between autistic adults (N = 55) and age-, gender- and Intelligence…

We first experience the joy and necessity of belonging to a world beyond the family as we take roles in one another's imaginative play. Together we are inventing new communities, in which matters of friendships, fairness, and fantasy are accessible to all.

Spontaneous imaginary companion (SIC) creation in childhood is a typical imaginative play behaviour associated with advanced sociocognitive skills; however, the direction of causality has not been established. To investigate this experimentally, researchers must determine whether children can create, on request, qualitatively equivalent imaginary…

Centuries of settler-colonial capitalist hegemony have deeply embedded violent paradigms of separation and hierarchy in our societal structures and internalized ideologies, ultimately manifesting in global climate justice crises. We argue, therefore, that addressing the socio-ecological catastrophes we currently face necessitates an inclusive…

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…

This paper explores experience that is both misconstrued and under theorized in adult education. Human experience is expressed in the public sphere as the motivation for social and political change. The connections among experience, the public sphere, and democracy are identified. The allies in exploring the role of experience in education are…

This comprehensive book provides a theoretical understanding of how imagination contributes to effective leadership, as well as practical tools all educational leaders can employ to cultivate their imaginations and the imaginations of others in their communities. To support these goals, book chapters offer multiple perspectives on what imagination…

The author draws on Lev S. Vygotsky's conception of play and Gunilla Lindqvist's methodology concerning the aesthetics of play to discuss play practice in early childhood classrooms. Based on the study of an educational experiment at a primary school, she discusses how children in a school setting simultaneously engage in developed forms of…

Socio-dramatic play is an everyday occurrence in early childhood education as children create narratives together in shared imagined worlds. The teacher's role in this type of play is less clear and this paper draws on a study using Lindqvist's "playworlds" approach to gain insight into how teachers participate in children's play. In…

Play has long been understood as an important pedagogical practice, particularly in early childhood education and care settings. Playing with food, however, has typically been overlooked, and very little is known about food play during mealtimes. The apparent dichotomy between rule-following and playfulness at mealtimes has led to a paucity of…