Notes on Contributors Preface Acknowledgements Series Editor’s Introduction 1. Cultures of Play and Learning in Transition, Mariane Hedegaard (Copenhagen University, Denmark), Marilyn Fleer (Monash University, Australia), Hanne Værum Sørensen (University College Aarhus, Denmark) and Elin Eriksen Ødegaard (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway) Part I: Macro Transitions Within and Across Educational Cultures: Children’s Explorations as a New Conception in Transitions 2. Ideas for a Radical-Local Approach to Care and Support for Children’s Playful Exploration in Preschool and Transition to School, Mariane Hedegaard (Copenhagen University, Denmark) and Naussúng Lyberth (Nuuk Muncipality, Greenland) 3. A Pedagogy of Collaborative Exploration: A Case Study of the Transition from a Monocultural Entity in National Celebration Rituals to a Multi-Layered Informed Pedagogy Practice Elin Eriksen Ødegaard (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway) 4. Play Exploration And Active Learning In A Chinese Kindergarten: An Educational Experiment Into How Teachers Meet The New Societal Demands Of The Educational Reform And Transition Into New Play Practices, Liang Li and Marilyn Fleer (Monash University, Australia) 5. Children with Disabilities Growing Up and Exploring Life as Adults: Socio-Cultural Challenges Around the Transition to Adulthood, Louise Bøttcher (Aarhus University, Denmark) Part II: Children’s Explorations During Micro-Genetic Transitions Within Activity Settings 6. Crisis As Micro-Genetic Developmental Transitions: Using Explorative Activities In Micro Transitions To Recognize Opportunities For Development Between Young Children And Their Fathers - A Cross-National Study, Rita Chawla-Duggan (University of Bath, UK) and Rajani Konantambigi (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India) 7. Babies in Motion Within Daycare Transition: (Co)construction of Locomotor Exploration in a Brazilian Case Study, Natalia Meireles Santos da Costa and Katia de Souza Amorim (University of São Paulo, Brazil) 8. Transitional Activities: Children’s Projects in Finnish Pre-Primary Education, Jaako Hillpö (University of Helsinki, Finland), Anna Rainio (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Teemu Suorsa (University of Oulu, Finland) 9. Moth Funeral: Exploring Issues of Life and Death in Early Childhood Education, Lasse Lipponen, Jaakko Hilppö and Antti Rajala (University of Helsinki, Finland) 10. Mirco-Transitions in Outdoor Playtime in Kindergarten: Opportunities and Resistances, Åsta Birkeland (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway), Hanne Værum Sørensen (University College Aarhus, Denmark) and He Min (East China Normal University, China) References Index

This is such a rare piece of work as it studies both culture and play together and also documents in detail the act of play in different settings...This book is also inclusive and talks about the dialectical relationship between children with disabilities and their environment which is a stance apart from earlier dominant narratives in the area. This book brings together different geographies, cultures, settings and their stories in one place and is a well written piece of research. Overall, a good read and a must recommendation for anyone working in the area of play.

The Bloomsbury Transitions in Childhood and Youth series brings together books that present and explore empirical research and theoretical discussion on the themes of childhood and youth transitions. Special attention is directed to conceptualizing transitions holistically so that societal, institutional and personal perspectives are featured within and across books. Key to the series is presenting the processes of transitions between practices or activities and their relationship to the person, in contexts such as, intergenerational family practices, the processes of care, a person’s development, the learning of individuals, groups and systems, personal health, labour and birthing and aging. All books take a broad cultural-historical approach of transitions across a range of contexts and countries and when brought together in one place make an important contribution to better understanding transitions globally. Books in the Transitions in Childhood and Youth series offer an excellent resource for postgraduate students, researchers, policy writers and academics. Advisory Board: Anne Edwards (University of Oxford, UK) Fernando Gonzalez-Rey (University Center of Brasília, Brazil) Jennifer Vadeboncoeur (University of British Columbia, Canada) Anna Stetsenko (City University of New York, USA)