Association of constructive play with executive function in preschool childre

• Autores: Zamora, Marjorie Geoconda, Tenorio Sánchez, Raquel Arcenia, León Reyes, Camilo Fernando, Páez Merchan, Carolina Andrea, León Reyes, Borys Bismark
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad José Carlos Mariátegui
• Repositorio: UJCM-Alternancia
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/1839
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistaalternancia.org/index.php/alternancia/article/view/1839
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Educación preescolar; Juego; Desarrollo cognitivo; Niños; Zonas rurales; Preprimary education; Play; Cognitive development; Children; Rural areas

The aim of this study was to analyse the association between participation in constructive play activities and executive function levels in preprimary school children from rural schools in the Milagro district. The research used a quantitative, correlational and cross-sectional design and included a purposive sample of preschool pupils who met inclusion criteria related to age, regular attendance and absence of reported neurological diagnoses. A standardised battery assessed executive functions, and a systematic observation protocol captured constructive play during guided free-play sessions in the classroom. Trained observers coded the recordings, and data were processed using descriptive statistics, non-parametric correlations and multiple regression models controlling for sociodemographic variables. The results showed that higher participation in constructive play was consistently associated with higher levels of executive functions, and that the qualitative complexity of constructions had a greater explanatory weight than the mere frequency or duration of play episodes. In addition, the association between constructive play and executive functions remained stable when age, sex and school were considered. The study concluded that, in the setting examined, constructive play represented a relevant pedagogical opportunity to support early executive development in rural preprimary education, within the constraints of a correlational design and the specific sampling frame used.