Role Substitution in Preschoolers’ Play with DifferentTypes of Materials for Pretend Play

This paper is devoted to the observation of preschoolers’ free play with different types of materials for pretend play. It is shown that role substitution varies in play with different materials. When children played with play costumes (role markers), many of them renamed themselves; however, the roles were similar in character and strictly related to the proposed costumes. Also, children rarely performed their role through actions. Playing with character toys turned out to be gender specific. Boys rarely played a role, preferring a director's position. Girls’ play was of different levels of complexity, their roles were complementary to their toys and original in character. When children played with toys that imitate real objects (cups, swords, irons and so on), they were less likely to rename themselves, the roles were rather similar; however, almost all children acted from inside their roles. The most balanced environment for pretend play was the one with open-ended materials: many children renamed themselves, and the roles were original (in fact, originality was the highest with this type of materials), many children performed the role through play actions (this was especially true for older preschoolers). The exception were 6-year-old children who, despite renaming themselves, did not perform any play actions in this environment.

1. Berlyand I.E. Igra kak fenomen soznaniya [Play as a phenomenon of consciousness]. Kemerovo: ALEF, 1992. 93 p. (In Russ.).
2. Bugrimenko E.A., El’koninova L.I. Igra — kul’turno-neposredstvennaya forma zhizni i vospitaniya v doshkol’nom detstve [Play is a culturally direct form of life and education in preschool childhood]. Moskovskii psikhoterapevticheskii zhurnal = Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2005, no. 1, pp. 58—72. (In Russ.).
3. Vygotskii L.S. Igra i ee rol’ v psikhicheskom razvitii rebenka [Play and its role in mental development]. Voprosy psikhologii = Issues of psychology, 1966, no. 6, pp. 62—77. (In Russ.).
4. Grinyavichene N.T. Predmetno-igrovaya sreda kak uslovie razvitiya syuzhetno-rolevykh igr doshkol’nikov. Avtoref. diss. kand. ped. nauk. [Subject-play environment as a condition for the development of role play for preschoolers. Ph.D. (Pedagogy) Thesis]. Moskow, 1989. 14 p. (In Russ.).
5. Korotkova N.A. Materialy i oborudovanie dlya igrovoi deyatel’nosti [Materials and equipment for play activity]. In Doronova T.N., Korotkova N.A. (eds.) Materialy i oborudovanie dlya detskogo sada: Posobie dlya vospitatelya detskogo sada [Materials for kindergarten equipment]. Moscow: Elti-Kudits, 2003. 160 p. (In Russ.).
6. Korotkova N.A. Syuzhetnaya igra doshkol’nikov [Narrative play of preschoolers]. Moscow: LINKA-press, 2016. 256 p. (In Russ.).
7. Kravcov G.G., Kravcova E.E. Psikhologiya i pedagogika obucheniya doshkol’nikov. Uchebnoe posobie [Psychology and pedagogy of learning of preschoolers]. Moscow: Mozaika- Sintez Publ., 2013. 320 p. (In Russ.).
8. Mukhina V.S. Igrushka kak sredstvo psikhicheskogo razvitiya rebenka [Toy as a means of child’s mental development]. Voprosy psikhologii = Issues of psychology, 1988, no. 2, pp. 123—128. (In Russ.).
9. Novoselova S.L. Rol’ igrushki v detskoi igre [The role of toys in children’s play]. In Vasil’eva M.A. (ed.) Rukovodstvo igrami detei v doshkol’nykh uchrezhdeniyakh [Preschool play management]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 1986, pp. 20—25. (In Russ.).
10. Ryabkova I.A., Smirnova E.O., Sheina E.G. Vozrastnye osobennosti rolevoi igry doshkol’nikov v usloviyakh otkrytoi predmetnoi sredy [Age Specifics of Preschoolers’ Role Play in Open Object Environment]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2018. Vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 75—84. DOI:10.17759/pse.2018230607 (In Russ.).
11. Ryabkova I.A., Smirnova E.O., Sheina E.G. Vozrastnye osobennosti rolevoi igry doshkol’nikov v usloviyakh otkrytoi predmetnoi sredy [Age Specifics of Preschoolers’ Role Play in Open Object Environment]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2018. Vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 75—84. DOI:10.17759/pse.2018230607 (In Russ.).
12. Smirnova E.O., Gudareva O.V. Sostoyanie igrovoi deyatel’nosti sovremennykh doshkol’nikov [The state of play of modern preschoolers]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2005, no. 2, pp. 76—86. (In Russ.).
13. Smirnova E.O., Ryabkova I.A. Struktura i varianty syuzhetnoi igry doshkol’nika [The Structure and Variants of a Preschooler’s Narrative Play]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2010. Vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 51—57. (In Russ.).
14. Trifonova E.A. Rezhisserskie igry doshkol’nikov. Chast’ 1. Organizatsiya v usloviyakh detskogo sada [Director play of preschoolers. Part 1. Organisation in condition of kindergarten]. Moscow: Natsional’nyi knizhnyi tsentr, 2017. 256 p. (In Russ.).
15. El’konin D.B. Psikhologiya igry [Psychology of play]. Moscow: Pedagogika, 1978. 300 p. (In Russ.).
16. Elkoninova L.I. Polnota razvitiya syuzhetno-rolevoi igry [Role play Development: The сomplete picture]. Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2014. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 54—61. (In Russ.).
17. Brown F., Patte M. Rethinking Children’s Play. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. 172 p.
18. Elkind D. The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally [Electronic resource]. American Journal of Play, 2008. Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1—7. Available at: http://www. journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/1-1-article-elkind-the-power-of-play.pdf (Accessed: 29.09.2020).
19. Fein G. Mind, Meaning, and Affect: Proposals for a Theory of Pretense. Developmental Review, 1989. Vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 345—363. DOI:10.1016/0273-2297(89)90034-8
20. Hall S.G. The story of the sand pile. New York, Chicago: E.L. Kellog & Co, 1897. 26 p.
21. Nicholson J., et al. Deconstructing adults’ and children’s discourse on children’s play: listening to children’s voices to destabilise deficit narratives. Early Child Development and Care, 2015. Vol. 185, no. 10, pp. 1569—1586. DOI:10.1080 /03004430.2015.1011149
22. Sutton-Smith B. Play for Life: Play Theory and Play as Emotional Survival. The Strong, 2017. 281 p.
23. Trawick-Smith J., Russell H., Swaminathan S. Measuring the effects of toys on the problem-solving, creative and social behaviours of preschool children. Early Child Development and Care, 2011. Vol. 181, no. 7, pp. 909—927. DO I:10.1080/03004430.2010.503892

PlumX

article metrics