Neoliberal rationalities predicated on consumer choice and market forces have increasingly positioned parents as consumers in early childhood and care markets. In this context, providers jostle to attract clientele by providing pathways through and around a milieu of parental anxieties and ambitions for their children. This article examines a…

In the Caribbean, as with many other contexts, though learning through play serves as the impetus behind recommended early years classroom practices, very little is known about children's play, what it looks like and the factors that shape it. To explore this issue, traditional qualitative methodology including interviews, documentation of field…

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…

This study explores how mothers in the US described challenges to their children's (ages birth to eight) play experiences at home during social distancing due to the COVID-19 virus. Understanding their lived experiences is valuable because it will add insight into the effects of this unique time period on the critical role parent-child…

The current early years emphasis on ensuring young children achieve 'school readiness' has contributed to a context of academic pressure in early years settings in England. The debated term 'school readiness' is vaguely expressed in England's early years curriculum as 'Children reaching a good level of development in the prime areas of literacy…

This is a first mixed-methods study, which created, adapted and tested the feasibility of a training programme targeted at parents, community professionals, specialist teachers and volunteers to provide advice on developmental stimulation for children with visual impairment in their homes in rural and urban settings of Malawi. The study followed…

This research compared the relative impact of different preschool activities on the development of bilingual students' English-language skills. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more, and use more of their second language (English), during free-play (non-academic) versus teacher-structured (academic)…

The present study examined representational and non-representational activities in which children in a Head Start classroom participated. This was an investigation from the perspective of cultural-historical activity theory of how components (e.g. artifacts and division of labour) of classroom activities vary across and within types of activities.…

The physical activity (PA) of young children is critical to their future activity, health and development, however, little is known about how the organisation of early years foundation stage (EYFS) settings impacts upon children's PA. This study aimed to measure the PA of children in Nursery and Reception classes and to explore their PA according…

This paper explores one child's use of their schema to construct their knowledge and understanding within the early years curriculum for Wales -- the Foundation Phase (FP). It considers how a knowledge of schemas can facilitate practitioners in supporting children along their learning continuum and inform classroom pedagogy. This paper explores…

As part of a longitudinal study, infant/toddler pretend play development and maternal play modelling were investigated in dyadic context. A total of 21 children were videotaped in monthly play sessions with their mothers, from age 8 to 17 months. Child and mother pretend play frequencies and levels were measured using Brown's Pretend Play…

This article introduces the notion of "contemporary" play in relation to existing ideas about children's play, learning and development from a sociocultural perspective. The need to think about the nature of contemporary play is considered in response to arguments suggesting that the quality of children's play has declined in…

The purpose of this study was to describe the daily activities of Canadian children outside of school. Participants were parents of N = 189 children (90 boys, 99 girls) in grades 1 to 3. The What Your Child Did Today parental telephone interview protocol was developed as a daily log of both the type and social context of children's activities.…

For decades, research has shown differences in cognitive assessment scores between White and minority ethnic group(s) learners as well as differences across different minority ethnic groups. More recent data have indicated that the home learning environment and languages spoken can impact cognitive assessment and other corollary outcomes. This…

Many grandparents play a significant role as educators and carers of children in the preschool years. Recently, this role has become the focus of much early childhood research as challenges facing grandparent carers and grandparent-headed households increasingly become an economic and social issue. Using survey data from China we explore the role…