Play in the Preschool Classroom - Leadership to INtegrate the Early ...

Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 35, No. 2, October 2007 (Ó 2007)
DOI: 10.1007/s10643-007-0165-8
Play in the Preschool Classroom: Its Socioemotional
Significance and the Teacher’s Role in Play
Godwin S. Ashiabi 1,2 Received: 14 April 2005; Accepted: 13 June 2005
The goals of this paper were two-fold. The first goal was to examine the emotional and social
developmental value of play in the early childhood classroom. This issue is important because
of the recent impetus for a more academic focus in early childhood classrooms, and questions
about the developmental benefits of play. The second goal was to examine and discuss the role
teachers could play in making play a developmental and educational experience. This is
because understanding the significance of play could make teachers less apprehensive about
using play to promote learning and development, and enable them answer questions regarding
the value of play. Using these goals as a backdrop, this paper discussed views of children’s
play; the defining characteristics of emotional and social development; play and the socioemotional
development of children; and the role of early childhood teachers in children’s play.
KEY WORDS: early childhood teachers; preschool children; sociodramatic play; socioemotional development.
The current focus on young children’s academic
preparation for school continues to dominate discussions
of the value of children’s socioemotional
competence for school readiness (Raver, 2002). Although
research shows that children’s socioemotional
skills are important for their school performance
(Wentzel & Asher, 1995), there is a belief among most
adults, including parents, that we need to teach
young children. For example, in a 1995 report by the
National Center for Education Statistics that asked
parents and kindergarten teachers about what fiveyear-olds
should know before entering kindergarten,
parents of a majority of preschoolers compared with
teachers placed greater importance on academic skills
1 Department of Human Development, California State University,
East Bay, Meiklejohn Hall 3069, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard,
Hayward, CA 94542, USA.
2 Correspondence should be directed to Godwin S. Ashiabi,
Department of Human Development, California State University,
East Bay, Meiklejohn Hall 3069, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard,
Hayward, CA 94542, USA., e-mail: godwin.ashiabi@csueastbay.edu
and preferred classroom practices that were more
academically oriented. Most parents believed that
knowledge of letters of the alphabet, ability to count
to 20 or more, and usage of pencils and paintbrushes
were very important/essential, whereas few teachers
held those beliefs. Specifically, parents were six times
more likely than teachers to rate counting as very
important/essential; parents were eight times more
likely than teachers to rate alphabet knowledge as
very important/essential; and parents were three
times more likely than teachers to rate the ability to
use pencils and paintbrushes as very important/
essential for kindergarten readiness.
Given the foregoing, the goals of this paper were
two-fold. The first was to examine the value of play in
promoting the emotional and social development of
children. This issue is important because questions
surrounding the educational and developmental usefulness
of play have become prevalent in recent years,
in addition to a push for a more academic focus in
early childhood settings (McLane, 2003). The second
was to examine and discuss the role of early childhood
teachers in making play a developmental and
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200 Ashiabi
educational experience for young children. This goal
was based on the following assumptions. If early
childhood educators understand the educational and
developmental value of play, it could enable them to
(a) be less anxious about engaging in practices that
enhance learning and development through play, and
(b) answer questions regarding the importance of
play for learning and development. Using these goals
as a backdrop, this paper sought to discuss (a) views
of children’s play, with a specific focus on sociodramatic
play, (b) the characteristics of emotional and
social development, (c) play and socioemotional
development, and (d) early childhood teachers’ role
in young children’s play.
VIEWS OF YOUNG CHILDREN’S PLAY
Children’s play has been conceptualized in terms
of creativity, adaptation, exploration, experimentation,
learning, communication, socialization, acculturation,
and mastery (Piaget, 1962; Schwartzman,
1978; Vygotsky, 1978). From a social constructivist
perspective, play enables children to build and extend
their knowledge and skills as they interact with their
environment, with others, and on their own (Glover,
1999).
Children’s play has been operationalized as
intrinsically motivating; pleasurable; freely chosen;
non-literal; actively engaging; opportunistic and
episodic; imaginative and creative; fluid and active;
and predominantly for the moment and therefore
concerned more with means than ends (Rubin, Fein,
& Vandenberg, 1983; Sturgess, 2003). These views
suggest that when children engage in play, they do it
because they enjoy what they are doing; they choose
how to play and what to play with by using their
imagination; they engage in pretense, and are not as
concerned with the outcomes as they are with how
they are playing.
With age, children engage frequently in cooperative
play involving two or more children with assigned
roles and a common goal; one that can be
achieved if all the play partners carry out their roles
(Hughes, 1999). Sociodramatic or pretend play is
cooperative play (Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990), and
makes up about two-thirds of all the pretend play of
preschool children (Rubin, 1986). In sociodramatic
play children take on an identity that complements
the roles played by others, and relate to them as if
they are other than themselves (Hughes, 1999;
Johnson, 1998) in a world of pretend that is reality
bound (Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990).
Sociodramatic play themes fall into three categories:
family, character, and functional roles
(Hughes, 1999). Family roles usually depict mother,
father, siblings, and pets. Character roles are usually
stereotyped or fictional, for example, being Sponge
Bob, a Ninja Turtle, or a Princess. Like family roles,
character roles need not be expressed in terms of
specific action plans. On the other hand, functional
roles are always defined in terms of specific action
plans; for example, a firefighter has a specific role.
The functional role defines the behavior but not the
permanent identity of the character (Hughes, 1999).
In essence, sociodramatic play involves children’s
emotions, thoughts and their external world; it is
social play in which children use their imagination
and creativity and take on different roles as they
create pretend situations involving the use of fantasy
and symbolism (Lindqvist, 2001).
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
We can think of children’s emotions as ways in
which they react to situations while social development
refers to as how they get along with peers and
form relationships. Furthermore, emotional and
social development are linked because children’s
social interactions are usually emotionally charged
(Halberstadt, Denham, & Dunsmore, 2001). Children’s
ability to (a) experience and appropriately
express their emotions, (b) understand the emotions
of peers, and (c) regulate their emotions determines
how successful they are during social interactions
(Halberstadt et al., 2001).
Emotional Expression
As the social world of a child expands, emotional
expression comes to serve an important communicative
role, providing peers with information about a
child’s intentions (Halberstadt et al., 2001). This
means that a child’s ability to properly express his/her
emotions is essential for peer interactions because the
experience and expression of emotion not only affects
a child’s behavior, but also, provides information to
peers about whether to engage the child or retreat
from further interaction with the child (Denham,
1998). Skill in emotional expression is an important
part of peer acceptance. For example, children who
learn to employ culturally accepted ways of expressing
emotions in accordance with situations are more
likely to be successful socially (Halberstadt et al.,
2001). In using culturally competent ways of
expressing emotions, children learn when and how to

Play in the Preschool Classroom
201
(a) substitute one emotion for another, (b) mask their
emotions, and (c) minimize their emotional experiences,
or maximize their emotional expression, such
as crying loudly to get the attention of adults (Cole,
1985).
Emotional Understanding
Children need to understand the emotions of
their peers because it enables them to perceive the
communicative intent of the emotions another person
is feeling. In understanding others’ emotions, subjectivity,
meaning, and social context are salient; they
explain (a) why one emotion, rather than another is
aroused in similar situations, as well as (b) individual
differences in emotional expressiveness (Denham,
1998). An integral part of the process of emotional
understanding is making a connection between the
experience of one’s own feelings to a representation
of how others feel (Harris, 1989); a process associated
with children’s developing theory of mind (Bailey,
2002). In sum, children need to experience various
emotions in order to construct social scripts about
emotions, because they first reflect on and make
judgments about their own emotions, and then
generalize these judgments to others’ feelings (Smiley
& Huttenlocher, 1989).
Emotional Regulation
Although it is useful that children be able to
express their emotions, there are many instances
when it is more appropriate to regulate emotional
expressiveness. Regulation of emotion occurs
through the acquisition of culturally accepted ways of
expressing emotions, and involves substituting one
emotion for another, masking emotions, and minimizing,
or maximizing emotional expressiveness
(Cole, 1985).
The overarching emotional task during the preschool
years is the movement from dyadic (caregiverchild)
regulation toward self-regulation of emotion,
which takes the form of a transfer of responsibility
from caregiver to the child (Sroufe, 1997). At first
caregivers have almost total responsibility for keeping
emotional arousal manageable, such as comforting
a crying child. Over time, the child plays an active
role in the regulation process, responding to caregivers,
and eventually, seeking regulatory assistance
through deliberate efforts, such as running to the
caregiver when s/he is hurt (Denham, 1998).
Consequently, in peer interactions, children are
expected to be able to regulate their emotions, because
the ability to manage emotional arousal is
essential to their capability to interact with others,
and to evaluations of their social competence
(Denham, 1998). For example, children engaged in
sociodramatic play have to negotiate their roles.
During such negotiations, some children do not get
the roles they want and may be upset about it.
However, those children’s ability to regulate their
upset, and take on different roles determines to a
great extent how desirable they are as potential play
partners in future play.
Social Development
Social development refers to children’s ability to
get along with their peers and to form relationships.
Children who are unable to form and maintain relationships
with other children are at great risk (Hartup,
1992). Although parents contribute to children’s
social skills, it is mainly acquired in interactions with
other children who provide opportunities to learn
and practice new skills, refine old ones, and gain
proficiency in social interactions (Hartup, 1992).
Understanding diversity issues is also important
because they give an indication of when and how
children may play with each other (Rettig, 1995).
Honig (1983) reported that gender identity is
achieved before age three, although some toddlers
between 18 and 24 months could label other children
correctly by sex. Porter (1971) noted there is no exact
age when racial awareness is present, but that it
appears between ages three and four. Finkelstein and
Haskins (1983) in a study of Black and White kindergartners’
ethnic/racial awareness, noted how that
awareness influences playmate preferences. Children
tended to select reported a preference for play with
same-color playmates. Children’s awareness of differences
based on disabilities occurs between ages
four and five. Gerber (1977) found that children ages
three-and-half to five were aware of the disabilities of
other children, and Guralnick (1980) noted that
without intervention, nondisabled children tend to
play with other nondisabled children and chose them
more often as playmates.
PLAY AND CHILDREN’S SOCIOEMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Bredekamp and Copple (1997) argued that play
is the most developmentally appropriate way for
children to learn, and others have suggested that play
facilitates problem-solving, perspective-taking, emotional
and social skills, and the development of a

202 Ashiabi
theory of mind (e.g., Bailey, 2002; Hartup, 1992;
McArdle, 2001). Research supports sociodramatic
play as a means for the development and promotion
of children’s socioemotional skills (Hughes, 1999)
because it requires the capacities for reflecting before
acting, sensing the perspective of others, and
emotional understanding and regulation (McArdle,
2001).
Pretend play provides children with opportunities
to practice perspective taking (Piaget, 1962; Vygotsky,
1978). Consistent with this view, pretend play
has been found to be associated with children’s
understanding of other people’s emotions (Lindsey &
Colwell, 2003), and with high emotion regulation and
emotional competence, but for girls only (Lindsey &
Colwell, 2003). Also, rough-and-tumble play enables
children to practice perspective taking, to learn the
expression of emotion, to distinguish between real
and play-related emotions of others, and to engage in
emotion regulation (Pelligrini & Smith, 1998),
although this effect pertains more to boys than to
girls (Lindsey & Colwell, 2003).
Sociodramatic play enables and improves children’s
role-taking ability, a necessary element for
communication, empathy, and altruistic behavior
(Hughes, 1999). Ianotti (1978) reported that when
children were given role-taking training, they
improved in their sensitivity to the perspectives of
others, compared with a control group that had no
training. Burns and Brainerd (1979) also found that
children in play groups that emphasized cooperation
in constructive play improved in their role-taking
abilities, compared with children in a control group.
Role-playing also enables children to understand
themselves and others better (Harley, 1999) because
as they share emotions and responses during activities,
they develop sensitivity to the needs of others
and gain confidence in themselves as problem-solvers.
Sociodramatic play improves children’s ability to
cooperate, to participate in social activities, and to
understand others (Smith, Dalgleish, & Herzmark,
1981). When preschool children engage in sociodramatic
play, they explore issues of control and compromise
(Howes, Unger, & Matheson, 1992) as they
negotiate with their peers during the choosing of
roles. Such negotiations help children communicate
with each other more effectively and to resolve conflicts
associated with peer interactions (Howes et al.,
1992). Also, cooperation while engaged in sociodramatic
play appears to generalize to other areas of
interaction as well (Hughes, 1999). Rosen (1974)
reported that children trained in sociodramatic play
showed improvements in the ability to work with
other children on a task, and improved their ability to
take the perspectives of other children when those
wants and preferences differed from their own.
Play with peers enhances social understanding
and relationships. As children develop relationships
and encounter problems, they extend their skills by
discovering strategies that work and those that do
not, how to sustain relationships, and how to solve
problems (Glover, 1999). Also, in play with peers
children practice and extend what they know about
sharing, turn-taking, self-restraint, working in a
group, and getting along with others (Glover, 1999).
It has also been suggested that pretense is an early
indication of children’s ability to recognize mental
states in others (Bailey, 2002). Children are not normally
able to read intentionality in others before age
four, yet children do engage in pretend play (which
requires the recognition of intentionality in others)
from about 18 months (Bailey, 2002). Thus, it
appears that through play children first come to
understand self-awareness, the distinction between
pretend and reality, and possibly the intentions of
others (Bailey, 2002). A summary of the evidence
linking sociodramatic play to children’s socioemotional
development is presented in Table I.
THE EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER’S ROLE
IN PLAY
Kagan (1990) identified three obstacles to the
implementation of play in the early childhood classroom:
attitudinal, structural, and functional. Attitudinal
barriers are associated with the value teachers
place on play. For example, some teachers perceive
involvement in play as interference (Korat, Bahar, &
Snapir, 2003), others are ambivalent about play, and
are hesitant about being involved (Lindqvist, 2001),
while still others view their role as teaching and
managing children in an academically oriented early
childhood classroom (Hadley, 2002).
Structural barriers to implementing play involve
limitations imposed by curricula, time, space, and
materials (Kagan, 1990). For example, growing
expectations for teacher-directed academic instruction
has limited time for play in early childhood
classrooms. Finally, functional barriers are associated
with attitudinal barriers. For example, although early
childhood teachers may receive inservice training on
the use of dramatic play, each school context, and the
challenges of implementing dramatic play in that
context differ (Olsen & Sumsion, 2000). In sum,

Play in the Preschool Classroom
203
Table I. Socioemotional Significance of Sociodramatic Play
Type of Skills
Socioemotional
Negotiation
Problem Solving
Perspective Taking
Role Taking
Cooperation
Social Understanding,
and Related Skills
Theory of Mind
Process
In sociodramatic play, a child’s capacities to reflect before acting, sense the perspective and emotional
experiences of others, and self-regulate emotional experiences are enhanced.
As a child engages in play with peers, s/he explores issues of control and compromise as s/he negotiates
with their peers. Such negotiations help a child communicate with others more effectively.
During play with peers, a child’s ability to problem solve is promoted because s/he exposed to various
ways of problem-solving and conflict-resolution.
In sociodramatic play a child has to take the perspectives of others, understand their pretend and real
emotions, and be able to regulate his/her actions accordingly.
Play enables and improves a child’s role-taking ability. This is because as a child shares his/her
emotions and responses during play, s/he develops sensitivity to the needs and views of others.
Play improves a child’s ability to cooperate; evidenced by a child’s ability to work with others on a
task.
As a child develops relationships and encounter problems, s/he extends his/her skills by finding
strategies that work and how to sustain relationships. Also, in play a child practices and extends what s/
he knows about sharing, turn-taking, self-restraint, working in a group, and getting along with others.
Pretend play is an early indication of a child’s ability to recognize mental states in others. Through play
a child first comes to understand self-awareness, the distinction between pretend and reality, and the
intentions of others.
whether play is used to promote learning and development
depends on teachers’ beliefs, practices, and
contexts (Hadley, 2002; McLane, 2003).
Hadley (2002) identified two types of teacher
involvement: outside the flow or inside the flow. When
a teacher is outside the flow, his/her involvement in
play is meant to prompt reflection on the part of the
children, which may lead to the modification and
extension of play. The following is an illustrative
example of an interaction between Miss Teri (who is
outside the flow) and two preschoolers (Brandon and
Calvin) who are packing suitcases:
Miss Teri: I see that you’re a packing your suitcases, are you
going on a trip somewhere?
Brandon: Yes, we are going on a Christmas vacation to visit
grandpa and grandma.
Calvin: We go to grandpa and grandma’s place for Christmas
every year. All the family comes there to see them.
Miss Teri: Why does all the family go there to see them at
Christmas?
Calvin: Mom says that is the only time all the family can be
together.
Miss Teri: How are you getting to grandpa and grandma’s
place?
Brandon: We will drive there.
Miss Teri: Did you get any presents for grandpa and grandma?
Are you getting presents for anyone else too?
On the other hand, a teacher situated inside the
flow of play takes on a role as a participant (Hadley,
2002), and can communicate to extend play. Once a
teacher gets inside the flow of play, communication
with children is direct and unmediated (Hadley,
2002). Thus, it becomes essential that the teacher be
mindful of what s/he says in that context.
The illustrative example below shows a teacher
inside the flow of play. Mr. Lane had noticed his
preschoolers’ interest in medicine and what takes
place in the doctor’s office. So Mr. Lane set up the
dramatic area in the class with props such as
stethoscopes, sphygmomanometer (blood pressure
units), thermometers, plastic syringes, note pads,
reservation books, file folders, and prescription
forms. However, Mr. Lane observed that while the
children pretending to be nurses in the doctor’s office
were calling patients to the doctor’s office, they were
not taking the file folders of the patients into the
doctor’s office. He was able to take the role of a
patient and draw attention to the issue.
Mr. Lane: Where is my file folder? I thought you made one for
me the last time I was here so you can know how I am doing
every time I come to see you. Can you tell the nurse to bring
my file folder to you?
Doctor: Yes, yes, we have one for you. Yes, I will ask the
nurse to bring it over (Goes out the door to ask the nurse to
look for Mr. Lane’s file folder and bring it into the office).
Nurse: Doctor, here you are. Here is the file folder for Mr.
Lane that you asked me to bring.
Doctor: Thank you nurse, don’t forget to have all the file folders
ready for the other people too.
Whether teachers are outside or inside the flow,
they play several roles: an observer and recorder,
stage manager and facilitator, mediator, or participant
in play (Dau, 1999; Jones & Reynolds, 1992). As
a stage manager and facilitator, the teacher organizes
and provides play materials, designates a play area,
schedules time for play, sets ground rules, decides
what activities constitute play, and how to relate to

204 Ashiabi
play while it is in progress (Jones & Reynolds, 1992;
Kontos, 1999). In setting the stage for play, teachers
should use props and materials that enhance children’s
cultural awareness by regularly changing
materials in the dramatic play area to reflect different
cultures (Kendall, 1983). Also teachers could help
remove clutter in the space around an ongoing play,
but not intervene with accessories or action unless
they perceive that an action is helpful in sustaining
and elaborating children’s play (Van Hoorn, Nourot,
Scales, & Alward, 2003).
Teachers could act as mediators, supporting
children’s interactions with materials as well as with
other children (Harley, 1999). For example, in a
mediating role, teachers could resolve conflicts over
materials or roles by offering new accessories, or by
suggesting alternatives for disputed roles. In a mediating
role, teachers model for children the flexible
thinking and problem solving abilities needed for
peer interactions (Van Hoorn et al., 2003). Also,
teachers could use incidental comments to extend
play. Such interventions often employed when children
have shown an interest in or have been involved
with materials, activities, or others (Brown & Odom,
1995, p. 40) is a means for promoting children’s socioemotional
development in the context of play. For
example, a teacher could help a child develop effective
strategies for entering play by introducing an
accessory, or suggesting a new role. The teacher
might say something like ‘‘Camille, I see that you
want to join your friends in play. Since they are pretending
to go fishing, why don’t you pretend to be a big
fish in the water so they can catch you?’’ Another
strategy may involve teachers’ support of children’s
peer interactions by prompting children to elaborate
their social behavior. For example, instead of the
teacher suggesting a role for Camille, the teacher
might say ‘‘Camille, I see that you want to join your
friends in play. I think you should tell them that you
want to join them in play.’’
As an observer and recorder, a teacher’s interest
is in understanding play, and how to build appropriate
experiences that will scaffold children’s learning
and development. Observation can lead to a much
better understanding of children, and give insights
into how to plan for, initiate, and extend children’s
play (Dau, 1999; Korat et al., 2003). When a teacher
takes on the role of co-player and actively participates
in children’s play, s/he models roles and offers
ideas to enhance play and support children’s growth
(Jones & Reynolds, 1992).
Teachers’ Role and Diversity Issues
Why should teachers have an interest in promoting
children’s understanding of diversity? First,
as racial differences in the US increase, so has the
significance of helping children learn how to get along
with others. This is because children construct
knowledge about themselves, their peers, and the
world through interactions (Bandura, 1986). Furthermore,
as children interact with others, they
express thoughts about each other; they also mention
differences regarding gender, ethnicity/culture, or
abilities. These realities provide an opportunity for
teachers to respond to children’s interest in diversity.
A note of caution is warranted. In Derman-
Sparks’ (1989) Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for
Empowering Young Children, she discussed problems
associated with using only holidays to teach young
children about different cultures, and the dangers of
what she calls a tourist curriculum. She observed that
if holidays, with their customs and activities are the
only things we teach children about other cultures, we
are not communicating a true picture of that culture.
With that caveat in mind, this section focuses on
some activities that teachers could engage in to foster
children’s appreciation and recognition of differing
beliefs, traditions, and abilities.
Teachers could learn about and promote the
various cultures represented among children they
teach through selection of developmentally appropriate
materials (e.g., books, pictures, toys, and
games) that show people of different races, ages,
genders, and abilities as competent. Also, teachers
could utilize multicultural books read to children as
material in teacher-guided play to promote an
appreciation for, and understanding of diversity.
The illustrative example below will hopefully
illuminate the point. Miss Jane had observed that her
preschool children were interested in differences
based on skin color. So she setup her classroom with
diversity related resources and decided to read Lynn
Reiser’s (1993) Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y
Margaret, and Bryan Ashley’s (1995) illustration of
What a Wonderful World. In Margaret and Margarita/Margarita
y Margaret, Margaret, who speaks
English and Margarita, who speaks Spanish, meet on
a trip to the park with their mothers. The language
barrier distances the parents (Margaret’s mother
reads a book, while Margarita’s mother knits), but
the two little girls who at first peer shyly at one
another from behind their mother’s skirts, soon are
chattering away. In What a Wonderful World,

Play in the Preschool Classroom
205
Bryan’s illustrations tell a story of a six multicultural
children making puppets that will act out the lyrics in
the song, What a Wonderful World. The multicultural
puppets and a Louis Armstrong look-alike (a smiling
black man with a trumpet) dance away as the children
behind the stage wave clouds, flowers, trees, sun,
moon, rainbows, and other props. While Miss Jane
was reading the books to the children, she played
What a Wonderful World in the background.
After reading the books, Miss Jane devoted circle
times to discussing diversity issues with the children
using Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y
Margaret, and What a Wonderful World as reference
points. This time was helpful because it provided
children with a feeling of group identity and introduced
them to the variety of cultures represented in
the class (Dixon & Fraser, 1986). Furthermore, because
children with disabilities spend less time in play
with their peers (Favazza & Odom, 1997), the teacher
used the discussions to build understanding of
children with disabilities.
During the discussions, Miss Jane asked ‘‘who
thinks it’ll be fun to have a puppet show like the kids in
What a Wonderful World? A sea of raised hands and a
simultaneous chorus of ‘‘me-me’’ followed her question.
This set in motion preparations for a teacherguided
play of the preschoolers’ version of What a
Wonderful World. Engagement in such a play enabled
children to recreate events, and offered them a process
of appropriating the symbolic constructions of
culture to learn their meanings (Bretherton, 1984). As
part of preparation for their play, roles were bargained
for and assigned; both teacher and children
suggested materials and props needed, and children
learned the lyrics to song, What a Wonderful World.
In reenacting the themes in What a Wonderful World,
children brought the outside world into the classroom
through their use of materials and activities (Jalongo,
1992).
At the core of teacher-guided play are the
mechanisms through which children develop socioemotional
skills as they engage in play with guidance
and support. In teacher-guided play, the teacher must
continuously adapt her/his actions in response to
children’s activity in playgroups. For example, the
teacher may act as an interpreter to help children
understand what is meant by another’s words and
actions during play. At other times the teacher guides
the playgroup, arranges props, and reminds children
of assigned their roles. At still other times the teacher
is outside the flow of play, inquiring, observing and
offering suggestions that enable children to organize
and direct their own play activities.
As the teacher monitors and guides play, and
scaffolds interactions, s/he could use strategies that
promote social integration and interactions among
children with and without disabilities, and among
children of varied racial/cultural backgrounds. Social
integration activities provide a context for teacher
and peer support for children with social interaction
difficulties (Brown, Odom, & Conroy, 2001). For
example, during teacher-guided play, teachers could
arrange for children with limited peer interactions to
be in involved in roles that put them in direct contact
with children who are socially responsive and
competent. This enables children with interaction
difficulties to observe socially competent peers, participate
directly in social interactions with peers who
have excellent play and interaction skills, and establish
a positive history of peer interactions (Brown
et al., 2001). Also, as children engage in teacherguided
play, teachers could encourage children to be
friendly, interact affectionately, compliment, smile,
give encouragement, share, and use other forms of
prosocial behavior. Such integrated playgroups have
been found to lead to more frequent peer interactions,
and positive changes in interactions between
children with and without disabilities (Brown et al.,
2001).
In summary, child-initiated and teacher-guided
play involve different kinds of teacher interaction
with children. Sociodramatic play in the early childhood
classroom requires a range of teacher participation,
and teachers have to decide the right degree
of involvement. Teachers have to observe what children
are doing, support their efforts, and get involved
thoughtfully to support additional learning.
CONCLUSION
In an era where most adults and parents prefer
early childhood classrooms that are more academically
oriented, this review suggests that play is beneficial
to children’s socioemotional development.
Given the importance of socioemotional skills to
school performance, the significance of enhancing
those skills through sociodramatic play is paramount
in the early childhood setting. There are many
advantages to letting children engage in play with
others. For example, sociodramatic play enhances
children’s capacity for reflecting before acting, roletaking,
perspective-taking, empathy, altruism, and
emotional understanding and regulation.

206 Ashiabi
Furthermore, in play with peers, children’s
negotiation and problem-solving skills are promoted,
as are their abilities to cooperate with others, share,
take turns, self-restrain, work in a group, and
get along with others. Play also promotes children’s
ability to read intentionality in others.
In addition, early childhood teachers have to
recognize the developmental significance and appropriateness
of play in promoting children’s socioemotional
development, and engage in practices (whether
inside the flow or outside the flow) that scaffold children’s
experiences and socioemotional skills during
play. This implies that there is a role for child-initiated
and teacher-guided play. Teacher-guided play
could be used to scaffold understanding of concepts
or issues that children are interested in, but requires
some form of adult intervention and guidance.
In summary, sociodramatic play contributes to
children’s emotional and social development. As
children engage in play, they develop and enhance
emotional and social skills that will serve them in the
school setting and other aspects of life. Also, early
childhood teachers have a role to play in making play
a developmental and learning experience for young
children.
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