Adult guidance in play and early childhood learning: A multilevel meta-analysis and meta-regression
Year: 2026
Type: study-registration
Abstract: This systematic review will examine guided play with adult support among children aged 2–8 years (24–107 months), compared separately with free play, direct instruction, and usual practice. Outcomes are language, early literacy, mathematics, spatial skills, executive functions, and social-emotional development. Multilevel meta-analysis and exploratory meta-regression will address dependent effects and adult guidance characteristics where evidence permits. Review lead: Oguz Keles. Confirmed single human coder: Gulsah Tasci, Istanbul 29 Mayis University. IMPORTANT STAGE DISCLOSURE: searches, AI-assisted preliminary screening, inspection of selected study results, and pilot extraction/calculation began before this registration draft. No pooled meta-analysis or meta-regression has been completed. The human coder has received 50 original-English records with Turkish instructions; completed human decisions have not been received. This is not a prospective, outcome-blind preregistration. DATED STATUS UPDATE — 23 September 2026 (the paragraph above records the registration-stage disclosure): The single human coder has returned the 50-record original-English title/abstract pilot. These purposively selected records do not constitute screening of the complete search corpus. At the review lead’s request, a separate AI-assisted preliminary screening log has been initiated; 250 ERIC abstracts have been assessed so far. AI suggestions are provisional and are not independent human decisions or final eligibility determinations. No human–AI agreement study is planned. Database export coverage, duplicate resolution, full-corpus screening, full-text eligibility, verified quantitative extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment remain incomplete. No pooled meta-analysis or meta-regression has been completed. The authors declare no funding support and no conflicts of interest. The review lead approved CC BY 4.0 on 16 September 2026; the registration currently displays CC0 1.0 Universal. This disclosure does not itself change or revoke the displayed license.
Source: Open Science Framework
Author: oğuz keleş
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213645942