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Category: Primary (5-11)

The Oxford Brain Story: Embedding an understanding of the importance of the early years

22 October 2024

In this keynote, Louise Dalton presents her programme of work entitled the Oxford Brain Story.

Infographic on Children’s Executive Functions

9 October 2024

This infographic on executive functions can be shared with ECD practitioners, teachers, parents, caregivers, health professionals, and anyone else interested in children’s cognitive development.

Learning through play in Global Majority countries: Reflections from the PEDAL Centre on understanding and adapting the concept in four different contexts

9 September 2024

This paper in the International Journal of Play interrogates the concept of learning through play in different global contexts.

Staying self-regulated in the classroom: The role of children’s executive functions and situational factors

24 July 2024

We wanted to explore how an individual child's self-regulation might vary between different activities.

Centring children’s lived experiences in understanding the importance of play in hospitals

8 July 2024

We wanted to understand what playing in hospital is like from the perspectives and experiences of young children themselves.

A playful, evidence-informed approach to maths education

30 May 2024

How PEDAL research can help a government committed to improving maths outcomes to think more creatively about how to achieve this goal.

Listening to children with empathy – the ethical case

30 May 2024

In this piece, Soizic le Courtois argues that advice given to parents should draw on scientific evidence about children's subjective wellbeing, children's perspectives and the contribution of any practice to children's development and outcomes. We should also be attuned to our empathetic responses to children, which can give us clues about the "right" thing to do.

Creating Classrooms for Change: Developing cognitive flexibility in schools in Rwanda

1 March 2024

This research looked at how schools in Rwanda foster students’ skills for adaptability - their capacity to create, innovate and adjust to shifting circumstances. It uses the psychological lens of cognitive flexibility. Findings highlight teachers’ activities to make lessons more practical and participatory, but also the ongoing obstacles posed by overcrowded classes, resource constraints, inadequate training and limited contact time.

Why and how do healthcare professionals use play in clinical practice?

1 March 2024

We explored what healthcare professionals in different roles and different countries understood to be important and useful about the role of play in paediatric practice. According to healthcare professionals, play in clinical practice can be used to communicate and build relationships with paediatric patients and thus potentially help provide patient-centred care.

Do educational programmes for healthcare professionals focus on play?

1 March 2024

This literature review looked at the evidence to understand how educational programmes for healthcare professionals include the use of play. It found that play is not consistently or systematically integrated into medical education.