Children have a natural inclination to play and imagine themselves as characters. Research has supported theories that connect this pretend play and related theatrical play to the development of children's social and emotional skills, but the author contends we need further, more rigorous research on whether such play directly relates to such…

This captivating book illuminates our understanding of how young children develop gender identities. A two year longitudinal research project on children's own understandings of gender casts new light on how 3 and 4 year old newcomers in early years classes learn rules for gendered behaviour from older children, in their imaginative and…

Effects of dramatic play on children's narrative competence were investigated among 36 second-graders. Children were read a familiar folktale and then "played" the story, discussed it, or drew a picture about it. They were then asked to retell the story either to an informed or to a naive listener. It was hypothesized that (1) more…

The Play Rating Scale was developed to observe young children's behaviors in four different areas of play: physical, block, manipulative, and dramatic. In each area, observations focus on frequency, ability, and creativity in communicating ideas; social levels of participation; and leadership capability. A total of 2,400 three-, four- and…

This study investigated the effects of teaching sociodramatic scripts on interactions among three triads, each containing two typical preschool children and one child with autistic characteristics. Results supported the inclusion of systematic training of scripts to enhance interaction among children with and without disabilities during…

Explores the extent to which social cognitive aspects of preschool children's free play behaviors varied according to two classroom contextual variables: (1) presence in different learning centers and (2) number of children and adults in those centers. Results incdicated that children behaved differently according to these variables. (Author/AS)

This study examined the effectiveness of elements by the thematic-fantasy play training paradigm in facilitating story recall of 192 disadvantaged kindergartners and first graders. Results include: adult tuition did not facilitate story recall; and fantasy enactment affected immediate but not maintained story recall. (BS)

Describes the process through which a multiracial, urban elementary class of remedial students adapted the children's story, "Dr. DeSoto," for an in-class presentation. Expands on this example to discuss the role of drama in language, cognitive development, and problem solving. Includes extensive transcripts of the children's…