Object exploration is considered a driver of motor, cognitive, and social development. However, little is known about how early childhood education and care settings facilitate object exploration. This study examined if children's exploration of objects during free play was facilitated by the use of particular spatial components (floor, tables, and activity centers) and types of play (solitary, social, and parallel). Participants were 61 children (aged 11 to 48 months and 50.8% boys, socioeconomic levels representative of the Dutch population). Intraindividual variability in children's object exploration was predicted by the use of particular spatial components and the social setting, with small‐to‐medium effect sizes. Solitary and parallel play were positively associated with complex object exploration, especially when sitting or standing at child‐height tables. During social play, object exploration was mostly absent.

中文翻译：

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中心托儿所的物理和社会环境促进了物体探索


物体探索被认为是运动、认知和社交发展的驱动力。然而，人们对幼儿教育和护理环境如何促进物体探索知之甚少。这项研究检验了儿童在自由游戏期间对物体的探索是否通过使用特定的空间组件（地板、桌子和活动中心）和游戏类型（单独的、社交的和平行的）来促进。参与者为 61 名儿童（年龄 11 至 48 个月，其中 50.8% 为男孩，代表荷兰人口的社会经济水平）。儿童物体探索的个体差异是通过使用特定的空间成分和社会环境来预测的，具有小到中等的效应大小。单独和平行游戏与复杂的物体探索呈正相关，尤其是当坐在或站在儿童高度的桌子旁时。在社交游戏中，几乎不存在物体探索。