To be able to support young children in learning to learn--an ability that requires adapting often-unprecedented changes in society--teachers need to be aware of the ways in which children understand learning. In this qualitative study, 177 micro-interviews conducted with 41 Finnish children were analysed using an abductive method to understand…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

Play is traditionally considered the foundation of learning in the early years. Because play is characterized by free choice, it can be difficult for adults to ensure all learning is useful for children. The intervention described here took a novel approach to this problematic. It exposed 17 four-year-olds to different adult demonstrations to see…