Preschool Imaginative Play Predisposition and its Relationship to Subsequent Third Grade Assessment

Abstract

A longitudinal study is described which addresses the question of the course of imaginative play predisposition. Preschool assessments of imaginativeness are related to third grade testing of cognitive and affective variables. A retest sample of seventy-three children were followed up some three years after the original preschool assessments of imaginative predisposition were made. Considerable support was provided for the validity of the earlier factorial multidimensional conception of imaginative predisposition. Further the early assessments were found to be predictive and strongly related to third grade expression of imagination, creativity and other related cognitive and emotional features such as reading, language comprehension, and independence and maturity.

Early Home Background Features in Relation to Imaginative and Creative Expression in Third Grade

“…In selecting four indicators of imaginative expression in third grade children it was found that each is related to earlier indications both in play and tests of imaginative ability. The early indicators are related not only to imagination in third grade but also to other important third grade achievements such as reading, verbal comprehension, math, and teachers' ratings of classroom behavior [10] .…”

‘Dramatic Play’ is the Appropriate Name

“…Although these terms do reflect slightly different judgments of either its value or focus, they tend to be used interchangeably (Hutt etui, 1989). Indeed, the terms 'imaginative play 1 (e.g., Shmukler, 1981Shmukler, ,1983Udwin, 1983;Moran et ul, 1984); 'make-believe' (e.g., Singer, 1973;Singer & Singer, 1976Bretherton, 1989); 'fantasy play 1 (e.g., Cole & LaVbie, 1985;Forbes et ul, 1986;Olszewski, 1987;Wall et ul, 1989); 'symbolic play' (e.g., Chaille, 1977;Christie, 1986;Hughes, 1987;Nourot & Van Hoorn, 1991); and 'sociodramatic play' (e.g., Christie, 1982;Klugman & Smilansky, 1990;Shefatya, 1990;Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990), have been frequently used as having the same meaning. Saltz & Johnson (1974), on the one hand use as akin 'sociodramatic' and 'dramatic' play, and on the other hand they distinguish TFP (thematic-fantasy play), that is their own use of this term, from sociodramatic play.…”

Factors which affect the frequency of dramatic play

“…Individual differences: Children from similar backgrounds seem to vary greatly in their dramatic play. Even among middle-class children who have facilities and encouragement, very different levels of frequency, amount, and quality of dramatic play can be seen (Shmukler, 1983). Even same-sex children, as a study by Matthews (1981) shows, differ in the involvement in dramatic play roles.…”