This article aims to summarise research on this topic; analyse, reflect on and discuss earlier research on play and learning using a few empirical examples; and determine what constitutes an appropriate educational approach concerning war and weapon within an early childhood education and care (ECEC) setting. This is done by putting feminist…

In what the author calls an autoethnography, he examines two aspects of his love of a favorite childhood toy: G.I. Joe. First, because the author is a contingent pacificist and this military figure--a fundamentally violent toy--played so important a role in his life, he now seeks to reconcile his aversion to (real life) violence with his enjoyment…

Pretend play is one of the most beneficial and complex forms of play that promotes a myriad of children's development. Children's engagement in pretend play can be influenced by their genders, age, material or toys available, and adults' support. Pretend play has been long studied globally, however, there is still a dearth of available information…

While sex differences in play have been extensively observed in typical development, only a handful of studies have explored this phenomenon in depth with children with autism spectrum disorders. This study explored sex differences in play complexity and toy engagement within caregiver-child interaction samples for preschool-aged children (2-5…

The author discusses gender differences in children's play and its relation to the programs of "Sesame Street," which for fifty years has sought to enhance children's physical, cognitive, and social development through playful learning. Gender differences in children's play, she asserts, are vast, and she notes that, consequently, boys…

Outdoor play comprises a highly significant play category through which children learn, develop, express themselves, socially and physically interact with their surroundings. Research, however demonstrates outdoor play is not substantially utilized within Greek preschool environments. This study was conducted during the 2019 academic year, aiming…

Autism and other developmental disabilities are common in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization developed the caregiver skills training programme to address the needs of families having children with developmental disabilities globally. This study explored the acceptability and feasibility of the caregiver skills training…

For the current study, a multi-measure, micro-analytic approach was used to prospectively explore the role of preliminary symbolic play with single and multi-objects in language milestone development and vice versa. Fourteen infants followed up in monthly one hour sessions between the ages of 8 and 16 months. Their spontaneous play acts and vocal…

This study investigates the degree to which children anthropomorphize a robot tutor and whether this anthropomorphism relates to their vocabulary learning in a second-language (L2) tutoring intervention. With this aim, an anthropomorphism questionnaire was administered to 5-year-old children (N = 104) twice: prior to and following a seven-session…

While considerable research has examined gender development in middle childhood, little longitudinal work has been conducted at this time to indicate whether, for example, youth who show more or less gender conformity at one point continue to do so later. The present study investigated the consistency of gender identity and preferences for…

The emotional availability scales (EAS), 4th edition, are widely used in research and clinical practice to assess the quality of parent-child interaction. This study examined the short-term reliability and continuity of the EAS (4th ed.) assessed in two similar observational contexts over a one-week interval. Sixty-two Dutch parents (85% mothers)…

Current understanding of how culture relates to the development of children's gender-related peer preferences is limited. To investigate the role of societal acceptance of gender nonconformity, this study compared children from China and Thailand. Unlike China and other cultures where the conceptualization of gender as binary is broadly accepted,…

Uses a Steinerian perspective to examine recent trends in educational policy and practices in Great Britain. Discusses aspects of Steiner's approach that support children's development: reality, respect, rhythm, and morality. Maintains that the toy represents elements of early child development that are unique to that period and form the basis for…

This research describes the rules and ways of forming playgroups in the children's peer culture. The data were obtained through observation by videoing children's activities in various play situations. The data were analysed through ethnographic thick description by using microanalysis and participation framework. The analysis was focused on who…

Research Findings: The current study explored the ethnotheories of 6 Chinese families regarding their young children's play in Shanghai, the most Westernized metropolis in China. A triangulation of multiple data sources was established through in-depth interviews, home visit observations, and 1-week recordings of child's daily play activities. The…