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Current interest in the development of leadership capacity within the early childhood profession provides an important opportunity to critically examine our field's conceptualizations of leadership. Modernist binary leader/follower conceptions are not reflective of contemporary scholarship describing identities as multiple, dynamic, socially constituted, negotiated, complex and like the self, undergoing continuous transformation. Additionally, linear descriptions of leadership development contrast with research documenting professional growth and change as a nonlinear, cyclical, and contextually influenced process, and deny the existence of power relationships that afford and constrain the multiple and intersecting identities of practitioners in the early childhood field. Drawing on a multilevel model of intersectionality, we problematize how identities are described in discussions of early childhood leadership and propose the need to revisit, revise, and reimagine leadership concepts for our field by advancing a postmodern turn in our theorizing.

This study examined play memories from adults who grew up in a wide range of international contexts. Surveys and semi-structured interviews asking adults to recollect play memories were completed with 135 adults (100 Females, 35 Males) who grew up in 21 countries. Play memories were analysed to identify adults' favourite types of childhood play, barriers preventing their play, beliefs about the impact of their childhood play across their lifespan, the emotions associated with recollecting their play, and the similarities and variations represented across the adults' play memories. Pretend play, play in nature, and risk-taking were prevalent themes, however, the data reflect how variation in sociocultural and historical contexts strongly influenced children's play experiences. The majority of participants associated play memories with positive feelings and reported lifelong benefits of early play experiences. The literature on sociocultural variations in children's play and neuroscience research on memories as reconstructions informs discussion of the findings.

This study used discourse analysis to compare the language adults use to discuss contemporary children's play and children's narratives of their own play experiences. Adult discourse was analysed to determine whether they positioned children through deficit or strength and the attributions of responsibility embedded within their language choices (e.g. assuming responsibility is with the child, family or society). Interviews were completed with 98 children (3-17) living in the USA and interviews and surveys were completed with 135 adults (18-88) from 21 different countries. Children emphasise interconnection with others, being outdoors and using open-ended toys to imagine and explore when discussing their play with little mention of technology. A majority of adults (78%) used deficit discourse and few used strengths-based language to discuss children's play (21%). Adult discourse differed significantly from children's descriptions of their own play. Findings suggest the importance of including children's perspectives in research on children's play.

Two case studies describe how two women, enrolled in an undergraduate course on play, were guided to examine play across their lifespan, critique the barriers that led to a decline in their play from childhood to young adulthood, and engage in cycles of documentation, dialogue, and analysis of their adult play experiences in order to discover pathways to reclaim play in their adult lives. Two assignments were used to facilitate the students' learning process; online blogs and digital lifespan play portfolios created on interactive wikis. Research on women's leisure and feminist poststructuralism informs discussion of the findings. Implications of the study's findings suggest that supporting early childhood professionals to develop as child advocates able to articulate the value of play for children's learning and development should begin by helping them to make important discoveries about the role of play in their own lives.

Developing leadership among early childhood professionals has become increasingly important as investing in children's early years has been championed as a public and private national and international priority. Two case studies present how oral inquiry and specifically, the Prospect Center's Descriptive Review of a Professional Dilemma of Practice, was used to support early childhood professionals to develop their leadership by strengthening the skills and dispositions they need to critically reflect upon, explore and negotiate the complex dilemmas they face in the context of their daily practice. Research on the use of inquiry to address uncertainty, the development of reflective practices, relational logics of effectiveness and social justice leadership inform discussion of the findings. Implications suggest the promise of using oral inquiry to support leadership development for early childhood professionals.

Discussion of children's play in international and diverse communities requires careful consideration of social, cultural and political contexts impacting children's lives, as well as recognition of the complexities revealed when these variables are identified and analysed. Using diverse conceptual frameworks represented in the research literature on play -- traditional developmental, sociocultural, human rights and poststructural -- we analyse examples of children's conceptions about play and retrospective interviews about adults' play memories drawn from two research studies. As a result, we illuminate tensions that exist in global discussions of children's play. Using the goal of improving social justice and equity in children's lives as a foundational framework guiding our analysis and discussion of children's play, we suggest that concluding what is in the best interests of children involves learning to engage in difficult conversations where tensions, complexities and contingencies are objectively and openly explored.

The current sociopolitical context of schooling is positioning play as incongruous with children's academic learning. As a result, teacher educators must increasingly guide future early childhood professionals to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become effective play advocates. This includes articulating the value of play across the lifespan to a variety of stakeholders. Yet, ironically, many adult women entering the early childhood profession report that a wide range of barriers prevent them from including play in their adult lives. Two case studies highlight how early childhood graduate students use their experiences with play across the lifespan as a foundation for becoming play advocates. Nel Noddings's care ethics and feminist poststructural critiques of the construct of care inform the analysis and discussion of the findings. Implications suggest the importance of guiding early childhood professionals to acknowledge self-care as a component of care and play as an essential expression of self-care.

As play researchers, the authors have an interest in the diversity of experiences and views people have on play. They are also curious about how the concept of play could be better understood in order to shape advocacy efforts in support of increased opportunities for children and adults to play. In Fall 2011, based on their initial adult play research and inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), they launched the Children's Play Narratives Project, an interview study with children ages 3 to 17, living in diverse communities both within the United States and internationally. The study aims to document and bring greater visibility to children's opinions and experiences related to play. This project reflects children's right to be heard and included in discussions that may influence their access to and experiences with play. This article shares excerpts from their first year of interviews with children to provide a window into the knowledge and passion their participants demonstrated when they were given an opportunity to express their views on play.

Examined reactions of 246 parents to the use of a curriculum-embedded performance assessment, the Work Sampling System (WSS) with children in kindergarten through grade 3. The majority of parents preferred the WSS reports to conventional report cards and expressed approval of WSS use. (SLD)

Investigated interaction patterns of first graders working in three small groups to compose stories on the computer over a 5-month period. Found that several social goals guided children's actions. Differential status within partnerships was reflected in types of social behaviors displayed. Common interaction patterns included using one another as resources. Agreed-upon strategies and plans facilitated positive affect. (Author/KB)

Used ethnographic methods to examine, over six months, the relationship between gender and open-ended computer software use to compose stories for 36 first graders. Found that females in mixed-gender groups were more likely to have their competence or work laughed at or criticized than when working alone or in all-female groups. Females used inclusive language more than males. (KB)

Examined the trajectory of change in scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills of low-income, urban third and fourth graders enrolled in classrooms in which the Work Sampling System (WSS) had been used at least 3 years. Results for 2,564 students show academic gains associated with the WSS. (SLD)