Early childhood education has always experienced a creative tension between tradition and innovation, between the deep roots of a pedagogy attentive to body language, imagination and relationships, and the challenges posed by a rapidly changing society that increasingly hybridises spaces, times and…

The creation of inclusive play environments represents a fundamental challenge for contemporary pedagogy, especially with a view to an intersectional education that recognizes and values differences in gender, ability, culture and socioeconomic background. In this context, outdoor play is configured…

Playing is an all-children’s right, and preschool education has a fundamental role in ensuring that playing is guaranteed in its pedagogical and curricular proposal. This article addresses the importance children attribute to play and do it in the school environment, also seeks to reflect on the…

Play is recognised as the privileged language of childhood and a driving force in cognitive, linguistic, motor, and socio-relational development. Early childhood education is called upon to restore its centrality, making it the core of the educational proposal. In this perspective, the contribution…

This paper explores the transformation of play in early childhood education services, bringing together theoretical perspectives, historical sources, and contemporary evidence. Starting from a pedagogical framework inspired by Maria Montessori, the research investigates the value of play, developing…

Play, in its different forms, is recognized as a key component of children's growth and learning processes. In early childhood education, play is a basic foundation that helps children explore, socialize, be creative, as well as engage in care activities. These benefits, generated through the…

This paper compares the formulation of the role of play in early childhood education for children aged 0-6 in Italy and Spain, across both digital and analogue experiences. Literature, applied research, and case studies from these countries, as perused hereinafter, poignantly unravel how play…

In recent times, Snoezelen rooms and other multisensory and interactive environments are spreading not only in rehabilitation contexts but also in school settings, as evidenced by the birth of a "National Snoezelen Schools Network" which includes about 50 schools offering, not only to children and…

Play and work are realities that, within a society strongly striving for productivity, are often placed on two distinct planes, in opposition to each other: acknowledging the centrality of play as a space for adult character formation (Bondioli, 1996), play nevertheless seems to be a "waste of time"…

The historical moment we are experiencing inevitably traces the way for an educational, social, cultural, economic, health and political change. Accepting the challenge of our times, this article intends to read the current "crisis" as a problem of commitment and responsibility on the part of…