Abstract
Both Dewey and Piaget ascribe to the school the task of preparing children for citizenship. In this article, it is studied how young children represent school life and adult-child relationships in their pretend play. Leaning on Vygotsky's theory of play, pretend play is interpreted as reflection-in-action. Transcriptions of pretend play are given which show that children enact negotiations and arguments about their rights and duties. In playfully representing their relationships with adults, children work out the conditions of applicability of the rules imposed on them by adults. In so doing, children practise the skills necessary for citizenship.
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