Ozlem Cankaya, MacEwan University

Research

play young children loose parts toys materials parents engagement play types

Latest papers

Loose parts play encourages spontaneous science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) behaviours.
Communications psychology · 2025 · first author
The Relationship Between Children's Indoor Loose Parts Play and Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review.
Journal of Intelligence · 2025 · first author
Preschool Children's Loose Parts Play and the Relationship to Cognitive Development: A Review of the Literature.
Journal of Intelligence · 2023 · first author

All 3 publications

Latest funding

Examining parent-child play types, duration, and engagement with loose parts: How parental income, educational attainment, and children's age and cognitive functioning shape loose parts play
SSHRC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$45,142

All 1 grants and awards

3 publications.

01

Loose parts play encourages spontaneous science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) behaviours.

Cankaya O, Rohatyn-Martin N, Buro K, Bulut O, Taylor K

Communications psychology2025First author

DOI: 10.1038/s44271-025-00362-y PMID: 41350933

02

The Relationship Between Children's Indoor Loose Parts Play and Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review.

Cankaya O, Martin M, Haugen D

Journal of Intelligence2025First author

DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence13050052 PMID: 40422652

03

Preschool Children's Loose Parts Play and the Relationship to Cognitive Development: A Review of the Literature.

Cankaya O, Rohatyn-Martin N, Leach J, Taylor K, Bulut O

Journal of Intelligence2023First author

DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11080151 PMID: 37623534

Examining parent-child play types, duration, and engagement with loose parts: How parental income, educational attainment, and children's age and cognitive functioning shape loose parts play

Principal investigatorSSHRC2023Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Cankaya, Ozlem

Keywords: play; young children; loose parts; toys; materials; parents; engagement; play types

$45,142

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Educational Psychology
Exceptional, Special Education
Measurement and Evaluation

Co-authors at MacEwan University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Natalia Rohatyn-Martin

Exceptional, Special Education

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Okan Bulut

Measurement and Evaluation

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: play Dear Professor Cankaya, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Loose parts play encourages spontaneous science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) behaviours." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Examining parent-child play types, duration, and engagement with loose parts: How parental income, educational attainment, and children's age and cognitive functioning shape loose parts play" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]