Volume 15, Number 3

Jeremy Sawyer recounts that, after Lev S. Vygotsky’s death, Jean Piaget conceded the Russian psychologist correctly understood the social origins, functions, and developmental trajectory of children’s egocentric speech (now called private speech) but dismissed this work as irrelevant to children’s ego-centrism or nondifferentiation of perspectives. Sawyer asserts that, although Piaget precluded perspective taking in egocentric speech, a post-Vygotskian framework suggests private speech and sociodramatic play may actually promote perspective taking, thereby reducing egocentrism. In light of these assertions, Sawyer examines private speech transcripts from preschoolers for evidence of perspective taking and concludes that they suggest children internalize perspectival differences through private speech and use more implicit perspective taking than explicit mental-state terms. And preschoolers, the author suggests, employ more sociodramatic speech in a sociodramatic play context to enact imaginary scenarios and pretend roles. He concludes that, rather than a remnant of egocentrism, private speech may be a psychological tool for engaging multiple perspectives. Key words: egocentrism; perspective taking; Piaget; private speech; sociodramatic play; Vygotsky

The author contends that, although most early childhood educators agree about the value of play for child development, preschools and kindergartens often do not reflect this belief, and she discusses this anomaly in the adult notion of play and how it manifests in classroom practices. She argues that it produces schoolroom practices in which adults use play merely as an instrument of teaching that are actually incompatible with play. Indeed, so-called “play-based instruction” misrepresents the true nature of play—the only activity through which young children fully express their own agency and in which they can truly participate in their own development. She discusses the teacher-initiated and teacher-driven pseudo or fake play that forces children to take on roles and enact pretend scenarios in ways pleasing to adults. And she seeks a remedy in the Vygotsky-Elkonin theory of play, which allows us to distinguish real play from fake play and helps restore the rightful place of true play to early childhood classrooms. Key words: Daniil Elkonin; early childhood education; fake play; Lev Vygotsky; make-believe play

The author draws on Lev S. Vygotsky’s conception of play and Gunilla Lindqvist’s methodology concerning the aesthetics of play to discuss play practice in early childhood classrooms. Based on the study of an educational experiment at a primary school, she discusses how children in a school setting simultaneously engage in developed forms of imagining employing concepts in the shared intellectual space afforded by a Conceptual Play-World. She argues that, by showcasing for policy makers the advantages of this cultural-historical program, teachers can support play as a leading source for the development of imagination and learning for young children in preschool, kindergarten, and early classrooms. Key words: Conceptual PlayWorld; cultural-historical theory; imagination; imaginary play; pretend play; Vygotsky

The author argues that play always occurs within a social context and in relation to the various cultures that coexist within the classroom and the school setting. She uses Vygotsky’s definition of play as dramatic or make-believe play for preschool children, and she applies Vygotskian and post-Vygotskian theories, including Daniil Elkonin’s categories of play, to examine mature and immature play among preschool children. She describes case studies of dual-language learners (DLLs) and English-only (EO) preschoolers (who need more time and scaffolding to acquire mature, make-believe play) along with those of reluctant players. She also promotes Bodrova and Leong’s observation and assessment measure, PRoPELS, for teachers and researchers seeking to help children reach a mature level of play in early childhood classrooms. She concludes with suggestions for supporting such mature play. Key words: dual-language learners; make-believe play; PRoPELS; scaffolding