ABSTRACT
In dramatic play, children enact some make-believe theme. Th is involves their suspension of reality in their interactions with peers, adults, and/or props. While recognized as a hallmark of the preschool period, dramatic play occurs from the toddler period throughout childhood and into adulthood (Fagen, 1981). Researchers, however, have been most interested in the ways in which aspects of young children’s dramatic play relate to various educational and developmental outcomes, such as literacy. Dramatic play, like other forms of play (see Fagen, 1981; Pellegrini & Boyd, 1993; Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg, 1983), follows an inverted developmental U-function, fi rst appearing around 1½ years of age, peaking during the late preschool/early primary-school period, and then declining (Fein, 1981). To this end, a number of integrative reviews have been written on the role of dramatic play in young children’s social and cognitive development (e.g., Christie & Johnsen, 1983; Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg; Smith, 1982), and in oral language and literacy development (Fein, 1981; Garvey, 1984; Pellegrini & Galda, 1993; 2001; Wagner, 1992).
