Analyzing the relationship between dramatic play measures and self-regulation from a cultural-historical perspective: a scoping review

Abstract

Play is defined as the leading activity of preschool children, it leads to cognitive, emotional and social development. In dramatic play the child moves towards an activity centered on social relations and increasingly guided by internal plans. Although a theoretical intrinsic relation between play and executive functions has been defined, it has been difficult to prove. The problem of assessment is one of the reasons. The aim of this review was to analyze if information about executive functions is included in dramatic play assessments. Thus, we surveyed studies of dramatic play in children to (a) identify the measures used and their properties, and (b) identify the extent to which the measures provide data about children's regulatory ability. 10 measures were included and analyzed using four categories considered defining of dramatic play from a cultural-historical perspective: Plans, Roles, Props and Scenarios. One measure assessed all the dimensions and two measures included three. The most attended dimensions were Roles and Props, followed by Scenarios and Plans. The results show that few assessments recover information about self-regulation. A limited cultural diversity is observed, pointing out the need to extend the research to different contexts, especially to societies with high levels of inequality.