Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative
Imaginative play is an important part of childhood that provides insight not only into a child’s ability to use language, but ultimately into their understandings of the world more broadly. Through play, children control the story as they shape an emerging narrative through words, gestures, movement...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/925 |
| _version_ | 1797460178796281856 |
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| author | Lisa Kervin Jessica Mantei |
| author_facet | Lisa Kervin Jessica Mantei |
| author_sort | Lisa Kervin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Imaginative play is an important part of childhood that provides insight not only into a child’s ability to use language, but ultimately into their understandings of the world more broadly. Through play, children control the story as they shape an emerging narrative through words, gestures, movement, and use of play spaces. In this paper we deconstruct a single instance of imaginative play captured in the home corner of a preschool classroom. The unscripted play dialogue creates a shared and compelling narrative evident in the texts the children created and their ongoing and complex interactions. Microanalysis of this narrative provides a novel insight into the play scenarios children create, the resources they select for developing the play, and the ways they communicate. We focus on discourse, subjectivity, and power to analyse the scenario. The cultural and linguistic resources demonstrated by this group of four-year-old children through their play provides insight not only into their understanding and interpretation of activities conducive to the home corner but also into their emerging social identities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:02:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-46bb83b2d7554df9af4c727b440a794f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:02:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-46bb83b2d7554df9af4c727b440a794f2023-11-24T14:28:33ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022022-12-01121292510.3390/educsci12120925Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting NarrativeLisa Kervin0Jessica Mantei1Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaFaculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaImaginative play is an important part of childhood that provides insight not only into a child’s ability to use language, but ultimately into their understandings of the world more broadly. Through play, children control the story as they shape an emerging narrative through words, gestures, movement, and use of play spaces. In this paper we deconstruct a single instance of imaginative play captured in the home corner of a preschool classroom. The unscripted play dialogue creates a shared and compelling narrative evident in the texts the children created and their ongoing and complex interactions. Microanalysis of this narrative provides a novel insight into the play scenarios children create, the resources they select for developing the play, and the ways they communicate. We focus on discourse, subjectivity, and power to analyse the scenario. The cultural and linguistic resources demonstrated by this group of four-year-old children through their play provides insight not only into their understanding and interpretation of activities conducive to the home corner but also into their emerging social identities.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/925playearly childhoodimaginative playlanguage and literacy |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Kervin Jessica Mantei Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative Education Sciences play early childhood imaginative play language and literacy |
| title | Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative |
| title_full | Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative |
| title_fullStr | Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative |
| title_short | Pretend Play: Children in Control of a Shifting Narrative |
| title_sort | pretend play children in control of a shifting narrative |
| topic | play early childhood imaginative play language and literacy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/925 |
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