Running head: THE IMPORTANCE OF DRAMATIC PLAY 1

The Importance of Dramatic Play

Megan McKinney

Pacific University
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The Importance of Dramatic Play

As Mrs. Jones walks around her kindergarten classroom, she notices four of her

students deeply engaged in their play. Michael and Victoria are seated at a table, reading a

menu and discussing what they want to order for dinner. Emily has a pad of paper and pen

in her hand, ready to scribble her peers’ orders. And Kyle is standing by the play kitchen,

preparing wooden fruits and vegetables for his new customers. Mrs. Jones’s students are

participating in dramatic play. Dramatic play is a type of play where children “break

through the walls of reality, pretend to be someone or something different from

themselves, and dramatize situations and actions to go along with the roles they have

chosen to play” (Cecchini, 2008). Dramatic play can involve props, which are used for their

realistic purposes, or are representative of something less accessible, yet necessary for

one’s pretense (e.g. an empty paper towel roll for a sword). Dramatic play can also involve

imitating others, such as a father or firefighter, or creating situations that are not pulled

from reality, but rather, are totally fantastical. Whatever manner children choose to go

about dramatic play, they can use this form of play to explore and figure out the world

around them. Being in children’s zone of proximal development, dramatic play is a means

by which children assimilate new ideas and accommodate those schemes based on their

experiences. It is an intrinsically motivating activity that children love to participate in. For

these reasons, it seems that dramatic play would be interwoven in every early childhood

education curriculum, but unfortunately, this is not the case. Dramatic play is essential in

early childhood education curriculum because it supports emotional regulation, delivers

literacy instruction, and promotes individual empowerment.

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Dramatic play should be implemented in all early childhood education settings

because it plays a key role in the development of emotional regulation in children.

Dramatic play calls on the ability to switch between reality and a child’s pretend world,

improving task-switching abilities and attentional control. This knowledge transfer leads to

an increase in executive function, which correlates with greater emotional control and

understanding (Goldstein, 2018). Failure to regulate emotions can cause an individual to

develop unfavorable personality traits such as aggression, anger, or anxiety, which

interferes with one’s social competence (The Science of Emotional Regulation, 2019).

Through dramatic play, children practice emotions and behaviors of other individuals,

which allows them to learn how to better empathize with others. This type of play also

teaches them how to cope with fears or situations they are normally too scared to take on

in reality. For example, Mrs. Jones’s student, Michael, is quite shy and fears speaking to and

interacting with adults. Michael’s parents have encouraged him to practice speaking with

adults when they go to grocery stores, parks, and restaurants. However, Michael still finds

it difficult. As her students play, Mrs. Jones observes Michael ask Victoria if she is ready to

order. Victoria nods, so Michael gestures Emily, the waitress, to approach the table. Michael

then proceeds to place his order in a confident manner. Although this interaction may

appear simply as part of play, Michael is actually wrestling with his fear of interacting with

adults. In reality, the waitress, Emily, would be an adult, but in play, Michael was able to

practice interacting with his peer with whom he is more comfortable. “By engaging with a

variety of emotional states in a false, controlled way, with a definite beginning and end, and

a clear causal relationship between activity and emotion within the “world” of the activity,

children may gain an understanding of the causes and consequences of emotion”

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(Goldstein, 2018). With continued practice in dramatic play, Michael may be able to

conquer his fear of adult interaction the next time he goes to a restaurant with his family.

The natural conflicts and resolutions that appear in dramatic play provide the opportunity

for valuable growth in self-regulation and emotional development.

Not only does dramatic play aid in the development of emotional regulation, but it is

also a medium for literacy instruction, which is essential in all early childhood education

settings. A study at the Hashemite University in Zarqa, Jordan actually indicated that

dramatic play centers improve students’ early writing behaviors. The study consisted of

observations and interviews where the administrator examined students’ writing abilities,

students’ perceptions of the writing process, students’ feelings about writing, before and

after dramatic play, and the attempts of students to write in school and at home. Through

observing, it was noticed that children use invented spelling while writing shopping lists,

prescriptions, and messages. When children engage in these activities, “they experience

realistic settings and functional reasons for using print, and therefore, their writing

attempts will increasingly emerge” (Ihmeideh, 2015). Some educators disagree and argue

against students’ use of invented spellings and unconventional forms of writing; they

believe these practices counter correct teachings and lead to bad habits. These educators

do not see the value of dramatic play, and think more time should be spent writing

sentences and words using the drill and practice technique. While invented spellings and

unconventional forms of writing could pose some concern in older students, these practices

are developmentally appropriate in early childhood. The study concluded that students

also developed more positive attitudes toward the process of writing following the

dramatic play center activities and saw writing as a pleasurable process (Ihmeideh, 2015).
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As children participate in dramatic play, their emotionally charged activity can improve

foundational literacy skills, especially in those who face oral language deficits (Sharp,

2012). Through play, these students assimilate new vocabulary and literacy skills

authentically, as a means and not as an end. English language learners benefit, too, as their

awareness of sound structures increase. Dramatic play should be present in early

childhood education because it provides oral language development, vocabulary

enhancement, requires critical thinking through hands-on problem solving, and uses

emerging literacy skills to reach child-driven goals (Sharp, 2012).

Finally, dramatic play supports individual empowerment and therefore should be

implemented in all early childhood education settings. In most traditional schools, students

must conform to teachers’ schedules and activities and have little freedom to make their

own choices. As a result, students feel restricted and are less likely to construct their own

understandings of issues they face. In dramatic play, the child is in control; he or she is in

control of the sequence of events, characters, script, challenges, and victories. Dramatic

play is not just some way to pass time, but rather, children are aware of what their play

means; they plan their roles and can step aside from their roles to talk about what their

play means. They do this because their play is serious business and they want others to

understand the purposes of their actions. Mrs. Jones observes Michael order spaghetti, only

to be told by Emily, the waitress, that the restaurant does not serve spaghetti. Michael looks

at Emily questionably since the restaurant is pretend and he does not see how he could not

be served pretend spaghetti. Emily notices his hesitation and tells him to play like it is a

different kind of restaurant. This role change by Emily is an example of

metacommunication; she stepped out of her role to explain and redirect the play in a
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direction she preferred. Through dramatic play, children also practice creative expression,

which encourages independence. In early childhood, children are highly dependent on

adults and other figures in their lives, but through play, they can gain knowledge of how

things work on their own. Children can make links with reality through dramatic play that

will help them figure out things for themselves (McKimmey, 1993). During dramatic play,

children can feel powerful by putting themselves in a position of power and re-enact real

experiences. They might pretend to be a teacher and scold their student for talking too

much, or a police officer giving someone a ticket. In dramatic play, children control the

events and their own desires can come true. Dramatic play is empowering for young

children and should by mandatory in early childhood education curriculum.

Dramatic play, or play in general, was not traditionally valued in classrooms, so why

does it matter now? Dramatic play is an integral part of early childhood education

curriculum because when children switch between reality and play and engage in a variety

of roles, they gain better emotional control. When children engage in dramatic play, they

also experience the functional uses for print, which helps in the development of more

positive attitudes toward literacy instruction. Dramatic play also has the ability to give

children a sense of empowerment, which in turn, helps these individuals construct their

own understandings of the world. Dramatic play’s benefits are vast and aid in the

development of other areas such as language, social skills, conflict resolution, use of

symbols, and many others. Dramatic play allows children to develop in all these areas in an

authentic and natural manner. Mrs. Jones smiles as she notices more of her students join

Victoria, Michael, Emily, and Kyle in their play. Dramatic play will continue to be a primary

part of her class’s curriculum because it provides her students with endless problem-
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solving opportunities, laying the foundation for continued and future learning that is both

enjoyable and memorable.

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References

Cecchini, M. E. (2008). How Dramatic Play Can Enhance Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=

751

Goldstein, TR, Lerner, MD. Dramatic pretend play games uniquely improve emotional

control in young children. Dev Sci. 2018; 21:e12603. https://doi-

org.proxy.lib.pacificu.edu:2443/10.1111/desc.12603

Ihmeideh, F. fathiihmeideh@hotmail. Co. (2015). The impact of dramatic play centre on

promoting the development of children’s early writing skills. European Early

Childhood Education Research Journal, 23(2), 250-263.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2014.970848

McKimmey, M. A. (1993). Child’s play is serious business. Children Today, 22(2), 14.

Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.pacific.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db

=aph&AN=9311227686&site=ehost-live

Sharp, A. C., Escalante, D. L., & Anderson, G. T. (2012). Literacy instruction in kindergarten:

Using the power of dramatic play. California English, 18(2), 16-18. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=83520006&site

=ehost-live

The Science of Emotional Regulation. (2019, April 2). Retrieved from

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/self-regulation-toddler-temper-tantrums/