Study On The Function Of Meta-Communication Of 4-5 Years Old Children In Social Pretend Play

Social pretend play is a common form of play among preschoolers.It involves preschoolers using meta-communication to exchange props,roles,and situations in order to define the rules of play.This qualitative study investigated the effect of meta-communication on social pretend play,by carefully observing children from two preschools in S City.The collected data was sorted and then qualitatively analyzed using a specialized software(Nvivo11).This study reveals that 1)Children can utilize meta-communicative behaviors,such as toy-display,conversation,body language,and repeating phrases to establish a gaming framework.2)The gaming framework can be maintained via participation,rule devising,cooperation,and progress notification.3)The gaming framework can be adjusted when the children ask for a change,deny an established plot,quit a former role,and establish a new character.4)Children can break the gaming framework by redesignating toys,giving negative comments,threatening to leave,denying different opinions,signaling the end,leaving the gaming area,and stopping to play.Finally,some suggestions for teachers who oversee children playing are given,such as observing and understanding the children’s body language,participating the game through meta-communication,and fostering promptly respond to children’s request.