Research on Young Children’s Humor : Theoretical and Practical Implications for Early Childhood Education

This book provides a wide spectrum of research on young children’s humor and illuminates the depth and complexity of humor development in children from birth through age 8 and beyond. It highlights the work of pioneers in young children’s humor research including Paul McGhee, Doris Bergen, and Vasu Reddy. Presenting a variety of new perspectives, the book examines such issues as play, humor, laughing and pleasure within the context of learning and development. It looks at humor, wordplay and cartoons that can be used as educational tools in the classroom. Finally, it provides explorations of humor within a cultural and spiritual context. The book presents diverse and creative methods to study humor and provides practical implications for adults working with children. The book offers a powerful springboard for moving research and practice toward a deeper understanding of young children’s humor as an integral and meaningful component of early development and learning. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Young Children’s Humor (Eleni Loizou, Susan L. Recchia)....Pages 1-8 Front Matter ....Pages 9-9 Young Children’s Play and Humor Development: A Close Theoretical Partnership (Doris Bergen)....Pages 11-28 Humor, Social Laughing, and Pleasure to Function: Three Sources of Laughter That Are Intrinsically Connected in Early Childhood (Elly Singer)....Pages 29-41 Humor Styles in Younger Children (Lucy Amelia James, Claire Louise Fox)....Pages 43-60 The Development of 3 to 5-Year-Old-Children’s Sense of Humor and the Relationships Among Children’s Temperament and Parents’ Humor Style in China (Wen Liu)....Pages 61-79 Front Matter ....Pages 81-81 Humor in the ECE Classroom: A Neglected Form of Play Whose Time Has Come (Paul McGhee)....Pages 83-106 Children’s Visual and Verbal Humorous Productions After Participating in a Series of Creative Activities, Framed by the Theory of the Absurd and the Empowerment Theory (Eleni Loizou, Evi K. Loizou)....Pages 107-126 The Place of Humor in the Classroom (Nikolaos Chaniotakis, Magdalini Papazoglou)....Pages 127-144 Cartoons as an Educational Tool to Fight Disability Stereotypes (Eleni Loizou, Simoni Symeonidou)....Pages 145-167 Linguistic Gymnastics: Humor and Wordplay in Children’s and Adolescent Literature (Lisa Maxwell Arter)....Pages 169-183 Front Matter ....Pages 185-185 Humour as Culture in Infancy (Vasudevi Reddy)....Pages 187-201 ‘Let the Wild Rumpus Start!’. Using Carnival as a Metaphor to Highlight the Pedagogical Significance of Young Children’s Humor (Laura Jennings-Tallant)....Pages 203-221 Exploring Connections Between Humor and Children’s Spirituality (Jennifer Mata-McMahon)....Pages 223-241 Research Connections and Implications for Practice to Further Support Young Children’s Humor (Susan L. Recchia, Eleni Loizou)....Pages 243-250