Category: Schools & Learning
Communication with friends and non-friend peers: an examination of dyadic connectedness across two play contexts
26 February 2026
This study examines the extent to which children’s connectedness is influenced by interaction context and friendship status. Research findings show that although friends engaged in similar rates of connected talk across two contexts, non-friends engaged in more connected talk during goal-directed drawing when compared to free-play. It is therefore important to focus on both context […]
Take part in the Early Years Library Project
9 February 2026
Thank you for your interest in the Early Years Library. We are currently recruiting nurseries to take part in our project, which will take place between March and July 2026. To help you find out more about our project and what it would involve, we have created four short videos. Please watch all four videos […]
A scoping review of teacher training programs to promote learning through play in pre- and primary schools
1 October 2025
This paper was published by the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education in September 2025.
Understanding how certain personality traits impact children’s enjoyment of school and teachers’ perceptions of children’s behaviour
25 September 2025
Read a summary of this recent paper published by Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties which used data from the Healthy Start, Happy Start study.
Play: The future of learning and thriving
17 July 2025
Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Educational Impact at LEGO Education, attended the PEDAL Conference 2025 to discuss how play can be more deeply integrated into education, work, and society.
Supporting Learning Through Play
11 December 2024
A Play Commission Submission by Dr Soizic Le Courtois, Manogya Sahay and Qiming Liu
Innovative approaches to support language development and the home learning environment
3 December 2024
In this PEDAL Conference 2024 recording, Prof Jenny Gibson presents her research findings that demonstrate the connections between a high-quality early language and communication environment in the home and children’s later school readiness and literacy outcomes in key stage 2.
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.
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.