This book provides insight into the complex nature of socialization and development by exploring the interrelations among such topics as play, diet, social cognition, self-concept, friendship, family, and school. This book also examines the contributions and impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal integration on a child's psychological development from early to middle childhood levels.

The Handbook of International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education provides a groundbreaking compilation of research from an interdisciplinary group of distinguished experts in early childhood education (ECE), child development, cultural and cross-cultural research in the psychological sciences, etc. The chapters provide current overviews of ECE in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, the US, and Canada, and convey how ECE is multi-sectorial, multi-cultural, and multi-disciplinary, undergirded by such disciplines as neuroscience, psychological anthropology, cross-cultural human development, childhood studies, and political science.

This book provides insight into the complex nature of socialization and development by exploring the interrelations among such topics as play, diet, social cognition, self-concept, friendship, family, and school. This book also examines the contributions and impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal integration on a child's psychological development from early to middle childhood levels.

The Handbook of International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education provides a groundbreaking compilation of research from an interdisciplinary group of distinguished experts in early childhood education (ECE), child development, cultural and cross-cultural research in the psychological sciences, etc. The chapters provide current overviews of ECE in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, the US, and Canada, and convey how ECE is multi-sectorial, multi-cultural, and multi-disciplinary, undergirded by such disciplines as neuroscience, psychological anthropology, cross-cultural human development, childhood studies, and political science.

Play & Culture Studies is a bi-annual, peer-reviewed series published by the Association for the Study of Play. For forty years The Association for the Anthropological Study of Play (TAASP), now The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) has served as the premier professional organization in academia dedicated to interdisciplinary research and theory construction concerning play. During that time TASP has promoted the study of play, forged alliances with various organizations advancing the cause for play, organized yearly meetings to disseminate play research, and produced an impressive catalog of play research through a variety of publications. Volume 13 of the Play and Culture Studies Series highlights contributions that reflect upon the rich forty-year history of TASP, that explore current research examining the field of play, and that advance future directions for play research.

"The Vietnam Worm" is a collection of stories based on the actual experiences of the author and the men he served with. The central character is Sergeant Tom Danville, a man fighting not only the Vietcong, but the combat sickness, 'The Worm', that is slowly and secretly invading his brain. From cobras and man-eating tigers, to dealing with incompetent officers and booby traps, the book tells of the daily life of Danville and his men as they strive to survive not only the horrors of war, but the transition of returning home to a country that neither appreciated nor understood the suffering and sacrifices they had made. The Vietnam War is all but forgotten now except by the thousands of men who were called and went, or volunteered because they truly believed it was the right thing to do. Many of these men still suffer now because they saw their duty and did it.

How do we save play in a standard-driven educational environment? This edited collection, Play and Literacy: Play & Culture Studies provides a direct answer and solutions to this question. Researchers and theorists have argued for decades that play is the best way to learn language and literacy for children. This book provides theoretical and historical foundation of connection between play and literacy, applied research studies as well as practical strategies to connect play and literacy in early childhood and in teacher education. This book features chapters on the history of play and literacy research, book-play paradigm, play in digital writing, book-based play activities, play-based reader responses, classroom dynamics affecting literacy learning in play, and using play with adults in teacher education such as drama-based instruction. Variety of chapters addressing the strong connection between play and literacy will satisfy the readers who seek to understand the relationship between play and literacy and implement ways to use play to support language and literacy.

Educators have long been pursuing and applying ways that play can be a context and even a medium for teaching and learning. Volume 15 of Play & Culture Studies focuses on the special topic on Play and Curriculum, a long waited topic to many educators and researchers in the field of play and education. This volume includes chapters reporting recent studies and practical ideas examining the relations between the play and curriculum from early education to higher education. The volume has 3 sections with the 9 chapters grouped to represent various voices on play and curriculum: in Culture, in STEM, in Higher Education. The uniqueness of this book is represented by its breadths and depths of diversity from investigating play and curriculum in an indigenous group in Columbia to play in a New York City Public school and from play and curriculum in a Family Child Care context to the uses of play with college students.

The Association for the Study of Play (ASP) is the sponsor of the seventh volume in the Play and Culture Studies Series. The ASP is a professional group of researchers who study play. The purpose of this series is to advance knowledge about play and culture. Volume seven presents current theoretical and empirical research on play and culture from a variety of disciplines including psychology, education, and sociology. The book begins with an overview of the twentieth-century and moves from conceptualizing play to significant and timely topics, such as the relationship between play and literacy. Applications to practice and policy implications are presented and include play with action figures; playgrounds; play as an integral part of the human experience; and the value of play with books for toddlers. Research activity and interests of contemporary play scholars are highlighted and discussed in relation to projected problems and needs facing us as we enter the new millennium, such as childhood obesity; play as a venue for social interaction; and play as a method of developing skill for interaction at the local and national levels as adults.