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Abstract

In the present study children from two age groups (three and four years old) were observed in their preschool classrooms during free play. We were interested in the extent to which social cognitive aspects of their play behaviors varied according to two classroom contextual variables: presence in different learning centers and participants (number of children and adults present) in those centers. Results indicated that children behaved differently according to these variables. Children engaged in lower order social-cognitive behaviors in art centers than they did in blocks and housekeeping centers. Adult presence related to less mature forms of play whereas peer presence related to more mature forms of play.

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The Social Cognitive Ecology of Preschool Classrooms: Contextual Relations Revisited

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