Metacommunication in social pretend play: two dimensions

D.M.P. de Haan*, A.G. Vriens-van Hoogdalem, K. Zeijlmans, J. Boom

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Research suggests that metacommunication in young children’s social pretend play is the most complex form of cooperation. In this study, metacommunication was examined using audio and video recordings during pretend play. Participants were 24 children in kindergarten average age 5.1 years. Utterances were coded for metacommunication, the narrative content and the social dimension of cooperation. Results show that while the use of metacommunication correlates with the complexity of the narrative, it does not correlate with the complexity of the social dimension. Implications for supporting metacommunication in social pretend play by teachers are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)405-419
JournalInternational Journal of Early Years Education
Volume29
Issue number4
Early online date12 Jun 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Metacommunication
  • pedagogy of metacommunication in pretend play
  • social pretend play
  • young children

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