Young children's pretend play as a space for inclusion and the development of self-regulation skills

This naturalistic single-arm pre-post study, conducted across three preschool groups and grounded in cultural-historical theory, examined changes in children's pretend-play skills and self-regulation during play over a four-month play intervention, as well as the association between these measures at the second assessment. The study included 45 children. The individual change profiles of three children identified as experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage were also examined descriptively. After the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate adjustment, total play-skill scores and total scores for self-regulation during play were statistically significantly higher at T2 than at T1, although significant differences were not found for every assessed area. Higher play-skill scores were strongly associated with higher scores for self-regulation during play at T2. The three child profiles revealed different patterns of change, ranging from stronger coordination and independence to the gradual expansion of pretend play or a continuing need for additional teacher support. The findings are consistent with the cultural-historical theoretical proposition that shared pretend play may provide varied opportunities for participation and for practicing self-regulation during play.