Early Play Arousal, Sex-Typed Play, and Activity Level as Precursors to Later Rough-and-Tumble Play

The present study compared two ways of measuring rough-and-tumble play (R&T) and examined three precursors to this play. Early parental socializing influences (particularly from fathers), "boy" sex-typed play preferences, and activity level were all hypothesized to be associated with later R&T. Objective measures of R&T at nursery school were moderately correlated with ratings of such play by parents and teachers at first grade. Arousal during play at 45 months and extent of R&T at 18 months by fathers, but not mothers, were found to correlate significantly with ratings of R&T at first grade. "Boy" sex-typed play was also significantly associated with first grade R&T. These correlations were similar for both boys and girls. There were no correlates with nursery school R&T that were similar for both sexes. Activity levels were not consistently associated with later R&T behaviors. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Physical Activity Play and Preschool Children's Peer Acceptance: Distinctions Between Rough-and-Tumble and Exercise Play

Research Findings: Two forms of exercise play (toy mediated and non-mediated) and 2 forms of rough-and-tumble (R&T) play (chase and fighting) were examined in relation to preschoolers' peer competence. A total of 148 preschoolers (78 boys, 89 Euro-Americans) were observed during free play at their university-sponsored child care center. The gender makeup of children's play companions (same gender, other gender, or mixed gender) as well as the type of play that children engaged in was recorded. Sociometric interviews assessed how well liked children were by their classmates. Analyses revealed that toy-mediated exercise play with mixed-gender and same-gender peers was associated with boys' and girls' peer acceptance. Girls' non-mediated exercise play and boys' R&T chasing was associated with peer acceptance. Boys who engaged in R&T fighting with same-gender peers were better liked by peers, whereas boys who engaged in R&T chasing with other-gender peers were not liked by peers. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that child gender and the gender of one's playmate are important factors in associations between physical activity play and peer acceptance.     

A Longitudinal Study of Popular and Rejected Children's Rough-and-Tumble Play

The intent of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between the rough-and-tumble play (R & T) of popular and rejected children and consequential measures of social affiliation (i.e., engagement in social games-with-rules) and social cognition (social problem-solving flexibility). For two years the outdoor recess behavior and social problem-solving flexibility of elementary school children was assessed. Children were also classified as sociometrically popular or rejected. Replicating earlier cross-sectional work, the R & T of popular, not rejected, children predicted both games-with-rules and social problem-solving flexibility. Results are discussed in terms of probable, but as of yet untested, play group composition factors and relations between design features of R & T and outcomes measures. Suggestions for future research are also outlined.     

对“以游戏为基本活动”理念的历史与理论分析

在我国学前教育发展史上,“以游戏为基本活动”的理念,经历了由“主导”而至“主要(基本)”活动,由“主次分明”而至“平等协同”的本土化过程.置身“加强作业和游戏中的教学因素”的历史情境,深入前苏联文化历史学派提出并调适主导活动的原则,解释儿童发展、回应挑战的理论语境,是解读这一本土化过程的前提与关键.这一理念的历史发展与本土化都要求我们始终坚持把“以游戏为主导活动”作为解释原则的理论地位,本着从自身文化特点出发并对历史负责的态度,进行理论与实践的变通和创造.     

Play as the Leading Activity of the Preschool Period: Insights from Vygotsky,Leont'ev,and Bakhtin

Cultural-historical psychology identifies play as the leading activity in preschool development. Vygotsky's (1967, 1978) seminal work outlined two categories of leading influences: play makes a foundational contribution to the development of semiotic mediation, and it involves active appropriation of social roles and rules and other integral aspects of social organization. Leont'ev's (1981) concept of appropriation and Bakhtin's (1981) concepts of heteroglossia and ideological becoming are used to elaborate and extend Vygotsky's original work, particularly with regard to creativity in preschool play. The paper concludes with a consideration of the pedagogical implications of the cultural-historical view on play, including the use of play to cultivate understanding of the arbitrary nature of signs and the appropriation of the social roles and organizational patterns of society.     

Play as the Leading Activity of the Preschool Period: Insights from Vygotsky, Leont'ev, and Bakhtin

Cultural-historical psychology identifies play as the leading activity in preschool development. Vygotsky's (1967, 1978) seminal work outlined two categories of leading influences: play makes a foundational contribution to the development of semiotic mediation, and it involves active appropriation of social roles and rules and other integral aspects of social organization. Leont'ev's (1981) concept of appropriation and Bakhtin's (1981) concepts of heteroglossia and ideological becoming are used to elaborate and extend Vygotsky's original work, particularly with regard to creativity in preschool play. The paper concludes with a consideration of the pedagogical implications of the cultural-historical view on play, including the use of play to cultivate understanding of the arbitrary nature of signs and the appropriation of the social roles and organizational patterns of society.     

Play as a route to literacy

There is a ready acceptance amongst educators that play has an important role to play in learning, particularly in the early years. Yet, as Linda Miller shows, the role of play in literacy learning is under-developed and she offers some suggested ways forward in this area.     

Neuroscience, Play and Early Childhood Education: Connections, Implications and Assessment

Paralleling the works of Cambourne’s Conditions of Literacy Learning (The Reading Teacher, 54(4), 414–429, 2001), Copple and Bredekamp’s (Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth though age. National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, 2009) Developmentally Appropriate Practices and the findings from the field of Neuroscience this article explores the important components of creating an active, stimulating learning environment; one purposely designed to actively engage the minds of young children in order to help strengthen their neurological networks. The article concludes its exploration with the role of “mirror neurons” in the learning environment and how they affect the young child's mood, emotions, and empathy.     

Early Predictors of Later Attainment in Reading and Spelling

A good deal of research has tried to establish the precursors of literacy in terms of the abilities in children which are most likely to lead to good progress in reading and writing. As Monica Lazo and Peter Pumfrey point out, several aspects of metalinguistic ability have been identified as important and in their research, reported here, they found that three aspects of this ability were particularly significant to children's literacy development. These aspects, phonological awareness, print awareness and semantic/syntactic awareness seem to play crucial roles in children's reading and spelling but not in isolation. It is the combination of these which seems to make the difference, a finding with important implications for teachers of early literacy.     

A Time and a Place for Everything: A Discrete Systems Perspective on the Role of Children's Rough-and-Tumble Play in Educational Settings

This paper emphasizes the following points regarding the appropriate role of rough-and-tumble play (R & T) in educational settings. (1) There has been an important secular trend toward an increasing importance of adult supervision of children's play. As a result, children's R & T must be considered in the context of social values regarding the expected developmental significance of children's play. (2) R & T is an aspect of evolved systems that propel the children into enthusiastic interaction with their environment and can be reasonably supposed to have several beneficial influences on children's cognitive and social development. (3) R & T can be distinguished from aggression, and adult supervised R & T is potentially an important arena for learning the limits of appropriate R & T. (4) It is suggested that supervised educational settings should be concerned with socializing several discrete systems that underlie children's development, including the present emphasis on socializing children to be able to focus attention, inhibit behavior, and be neat and orderly. However, the purpose of the present paper is to present a case for socializing the systems underlying stimulus seeking, extroversion, sociability, and intellectual creativity as well.     

论早期教育中的游戏与教学

早期教育领域一直存在两种不同的游戏取向,一种是文化传播或文化定位取向,一种是生成式或响应式取向。在早期教育领域,儿童自由与教师掌控之间的矛盾一直难以解决。教师可以采用综合教学法,增加教师与儿童共同建构知识的可能性。     

Cognitive and Linguistic Precursors to Early Literacy Achievement in Children With Specific Language Impairment

This study investigated the role of cognitive and language skills as predictors of early literacy skills in children with Specific Language Impairment. A range of cognitive and linguistic skills were assessed in a sample of 137 eight-year-old children with SLI at the beginning of the school year, and 6 months later on word decoding and reading comprehension. The cognitive and linguistic measures revealed four factors that were called language, speech, short-term memory, and phonological awareness. Structural equation modeling showed word decoding to be predicted by speech, short-term memory, and phonological awareness, whereas reading comprehension was predicted by word decoding skills and short-term memory. It can be concluded that in children with SLI variations in early word decoding are mostly determined by speech abilities and short-term memory, and to a lesser extent by phonological awareness. Moreover, reading comprehension turns out to be highly dependent on word decoding and short-term memory.     

论早期教育中的游戏与教学

早期教育领域一直存在两种不同的游戏取向,一种是文化传播或文化定位取向,一种是生成式或响应式取向.在早期教育领域,儿童自由与教师掌控之间的矛盾一直难以解决.教师可以采用综合教学法,增加教师与儿童共同建构知识的可能性.     

论充分发挥主体能动性的主体条件

充分发挥主体能动性，必须提高主体自身的素质，树立正确的世界观、人生观和价值观；树立强烈的主体意识，确定发展意识、创新意识、超群意识和超前意识；并努力提高辩证思维能力和实践能力。     

Early Training Facilitative Level as a Predictor of Practicum Performance

Thirty-two counseling trainees were rated on level of facilitative functioning before and after prepracticum. Evidence is presented that pretraining and early training levels of facilitative functioning are directly related to later performance in practicum.     

A Time and a Place for Everything: A Discrete Systems Perspective on the Role of Children's Rough-and-Tumble Play in Educational Settings

This paper emphasizes the following points regarding the appropriate role of rough-and-tumble play (R & T) in educational settings. (1) There has been an important secular trend toward an increasing importance of adult supervision of children's play. As a result, children's R & T must be considered in the context of social values regarding the expected developmental significance of children's play. (2) R & T is an aspect of evolved systems that propel the children into enthusiastic interaction with their environment and can be reasonably supposed to have several beneficial influences on children's cognitive and social development. (3) R & T can be distinguished from aggression, and adult supervised R & T is potentially an important arena for learning the limits of appropriate R & T. (4) It is suggested that supervised educational settings should be concerned with socializing several discrete systems that underlie children's development, including the present emphasis on socializing children to be able to focus attention, inhibit behavior, and be neat and orderly. However, the purpose of the present paper is to present a case for socializing the systems underlying stimulus seeking, extroversion, sociability, and intellectual creativity as well.     

Planning in Middle Childhood: Early Predictors and Later Outcomes

Data from 1,364 children and families who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed to track the early correlates and later academic outcomes of planning during middle childhood. Maternal education, through its effect on parenting quality when children were 54 months old, predicts their concurrent performance on sustained attention, inhibition, and short‐term verbal memory tests. This performance predicts planning in first grade, which predicts third‐grade reading and mathematics attainment, but not the rate of growth in academic skills from first to fifth grades. This path was also found when the same parenting, cognitive, and academic constructs were measured at later time points.     

中国早期少儿电视剧的创作与理论批评

中国少儿电视剧是中国电视业的产物,在其诞生之初即受到党和政府的高度重视,承担起教育少年儿童的重要作用。早期的中国少儿电视剧创作很丰富,但与之相关的理论批评却相对滞后,在整个20世纪60-70年代均未出现。1978年中国改革开放之后,中国电视业再一次焕发出勃勃生机,中国少儿电视剧创作迎来了第二个创作高潮期,同时,中国少儿电视剧理论批评也伴随着创作开始出现,因此中国少儿电视剧理论批评史的出发点要设置在80年代之后。     

Maternal Support for Play and Language across Early Childhood

Patterns of development in language and play for full term and preterm children from 6 to 54 months and the effects of maternal parenting strategies (i.e., maintaining attentional focus, use of directiveness) were examined. Significant risk differences in the growth of both language and play were found. The high risk children were more likely to show delays in both these skills. Maintaining had a positive influence on children's skills, while directiveness had a largely negative influence, especially at older ages. The relation between growth in play and language was stronger for the high risk, preterm, when compared to the low risk and full term, children, but only during the infancy and toddler period. Given that play and language development is more likely to be delayed for preterm, high-risk children and the relation between the development of these skills is stronger for high risk preterm children, particularly early, it would be important to provide the parents and educators with information about play and language development. For example, communicating the need to be consistent in using some interactive behaviors (e.g., maintaining) as children develop while modifying other behaviors (e.g., directiveness) would be essential.