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Category: Early Childhood Education
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.
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.
Supporting play for neurodivergent children
5 December 2023
In this session you hear from Kerry Murphy (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Dr Gina Gomez de la Cuesta and Abi Dodson (Play Included) share their expertise on play and its significance in diverse child development. This presentation was recorded on 7th September 2023 as part of the PEDAL Play Conference, an event which brought […]
The complex possibilities of play in schools
5 December 2023
In this lecture Dr James Biddulph and Aimee Durning (University of Cambridge Primary School) discuss play’s place in the curriculum, and how they have used play to nurture and promote mental wellness for some of the most vulnerable children within their school community. This presentation was recorded on 7th September 2023 as part of the […]
A vision for happy, healthy childhoods in the UK
5 December 2023
In this keynote lecture Helen Hayes (Shadow Children’s Minister and Labour MP forDulwich & West Norwood) shares Labour’s vision for childhood. This presentation was recorded on 7th September 2023 as part of the PEDAL Play Conference, an event which brought together play researchers, policymakers, and practitioners spotlighting the benefits of play on mental health in […]
A future for the world’s children? Play as the basis of a new paradigm for a world on fire
5 December 2023
In this keynote lecture Professor Mark Tomlinson (Stellenbosch University) discusses the important role of play in building minds and brains in the future that are built for creativity, adaptation, collaboration, connectedness and resilience. This presentation was recorded on 7th September 2023 as part of the PEDAL Play Conference, an event which brought together play researchers, […]
Understanding & supporting mental health in infancy & early childhood: a PEDAL and UNICEF UK toolkit
5 December 2023
In this lecture Sally Hogg, PEDAL’s Senior Policy Fellow presents PEDAL’s work with UNICEF UK on the new toolkit for understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood. She explains the new framework which describes what it means to be mentally healthy in the earliest years of life. This presentation was recorded on […]
Playful approaches to research
5 December 2023
In this workshop, Dr Beth Barker, Dr Kelsey Graber, and PhD students Sydney Conroy and Carolyn Mazzei (PEDAL) discuss how play itself can be used as an ethos and a tool to support our explorations of play, development, and learning in childhood during our research studies. They discuss ways that play factors into our research […]
Early Years Library
9 January 2023
Learn more about these free resources designed to help early childhood education practitioners support young children’s development of essential skills.
B: Building Blocks: The power of the brick
6 July 2022
How can block play support children's development?