Unlocking imaginative play: A scoping review investigating early childhood educators’ contributions towards imaginative play

Play is a core occupation in childhood, essential for promoting cognitive, social, and emotional development. Imaginative play is essential for enriching a child’s communication, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. Despite the benefits imaginative play has for children, there remains a need to explore the facilitators and barriers that exist for early childhood educators to support imaginative play activities. This scoping review synthesized existing literature on the enabling and inhibiting factors related to educators and their involvement in imaginative play with young children. Scopus, PubMed, ERIC, and APA PsycNET databases were selected and searched. A total of 14 articles published between 2008 and 2021 were retrieved for data extraction. Meta-ethnography analysis was used to establish the facilitators and barriers that contribute towards imaginative play. Facilitators included fostering environments, adult participation, and scaffolding imaginative play experiences. Barriers included adult-imposed roles in play scenarios, restrictive play, and a lack of supportive educator involvement. Early childhood educators’ attitudes, knowledge and self-efficacy influenced how they contributed to imaginative play activities. Findings indicate occupational therapists’ key role in supporting professional development and training for educators in early childhood education (ECE) settings. Future research is recommended to gain a deeper insight into educators’ barriers and facilitators towards imaginative play in lower-socioeconomic ECE settings, culturally and neurodiverse children.