Indirect play support: the influence of storytelling on pretend play development in preschool age

Abstract

Relevance. Currently, in most preschool groups there is a minimum level of quality conditions for supporting play. The task is to improve the quality of play support. The article examines the developing potential of regular practice of storytelling as a part of indirect play support in preschool setting. The aim of the study: to analyze the influence of regular storytelling experience on the development of pretend play. Methods. 38 children aged 6-7 years from two preschool groups took part in a pedagogical experiment (duration – 7 months). For the initial and repeated assessment of the level of play development we used E.O. Smirnova’s diagnostic tool and the “challenge-response” parameter (L.I. Elkoninova); to assess the level of imagination development – the tool “Where is whose place?” (E.E. Kravtsova). In the experimental group, conditions were created for regular practice of storytelling based on children’s drawings. The results of the pedagogical experiment were assessed by the presence of a shift in the level of development of play and imagination in the experimental and control groups before and after the pedagogical experiment. Results. Based on the analysis of more than 600 children’s stories, 3 types of children’s stories were identified and 5 trajectories of development of children’s storytelling were described. During the experiment, children moved from a description and sequence of actions to more complex structure with culmination. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the level of development of play and imagination before and after the pedagogical experiment (p<0.01) only in the experimental group. Conclusions. Regular storytelling is a significant condition for the development of the cognitive aspect of the play associated with substitution, symbolic actions of the child, plot features, as well as the affective side of play associated with the creation of a situation of challenge and response. Storytelling can be seen not as the only necessary condition for the development of play, but as an additional condition (part of indirect support) that expands the capabilities of children playing. The results can be used in developing a strategy for complex play support in preschool organizations.

Keywords

• play
• storytelling
• pretend play
• play support
• preschool age