Sand Play and 0- to 8-Year-Old Children's Physical, Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.

Background: Sand play (SP) is a global phenomenon that may be linked to children's health outcomes, but limited evidence exists. The purpose was to synthesize evidence on the association between SP and 0- to 8-year-old children's physical, cognitive and socioemotional outcomes.

Methods: CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus with Full Text, ERIC, Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched.

A comparative analysis of movement and physical activity in early childhood teacher education policy in five Nordic countries.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to investigate the integration of movement and physical activity (MoPA) within Early Childhood Teacher Education (ECTE) policies across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This knowledge can inform the development of ECTE policies and practices that promote MoPA in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Nordic countries and other countries worldwide.

Methods: In this study, a Nordic cross-national network of researchers collaborated in investigating policy documents at the national and university levels, which govern the education of ECEC teachers.

Movement and Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care Policies of Five Nordic Countries.

The purpose of this study was to examine the values of movement and physical activity (MoPA) using government policy documents (e.g., laws and curricula) on early childhood education and care (ECEC) from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Sand Play for 0-8-Year-Old Children's Health and Development: A Systematic Review Protocol.

Sand play may be a significant determinant of health and development in early childhood, but systematically synthesised evidence is absent in the literature. The main objective of this study was to present a planned methodology to systematically review, and synthesise, the evidence regarding sand play and its associations with 0-8-year-old children's health and development. The systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols statement was registered to PROSPERO (CRD42021253852).

Finnish Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Perceived Competence in Early Childhood Physical Education.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers have a central role in supporting young children's physical activity (PA) and overall development in the early years. However, the value of early childhood education teacher training (ECETT) programmes is not widely understood. This study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers' perceptions of perceived competence when (1) supporting a child's PA, (2) teaching PE, and (3) observing and assessing a child's motor skills and PA.