Juego simbólico en el desarrollo de habilidades sociales en niños de 4 a 5 años

Abstract

This research aims to determine the contributions of symbolic play to the development of social skills in children aged 4 to 5 years, through the analysis of recent research, in order to generate an educational intervention proposal. The research follows a qualitative approach, is descriptive in nature, and relies on a literature review. A deductive-inductive method was used in its development, analyzing scientific articles and documents obtained from digital databases of the Catholic University of Cuenca, including SciELO, Redalyc, Scopus, Taylor & Francis, and Dialnet, among others. The search was conducted using keywords and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria based on factors such as time frame, reliability, and validity. The results revealed that symbolic play is an essential and multifaceted catalyst for enhancing skills such as communication, cooperation, empathy, problem-solving, and resilience. Additionally, an educational intervention proposal was developed to promote the development of social skills in children aged 4 to 5 years through symbolic play. This proposal was validated by expert judgment, with the collaboration of three qualified professionals. The research confirms that symbolic play has a fundamental role in the development of social skills in children aged 4 to 5 years. The findings from the rigorous review of recent scientific sources show that symbolic play not only fosters the development of social skills but also contributes to the child's holistic development.