Juego simbólico digital y función ejecutiva en niños de educación inicial
Digital symbolic play and executive function in early childhood childrenContenido principal del artículo
El estudio investigó la influencia del juego simbólico digital guiado en el desarrollo de las funciones ejecutivas de niños en educación inicial. Se utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental longitudinal con enfoque mixto; se compararon dos grupos de escolares que participaron o no en una intervención lúdico-digital mediada por docentes, combinándo mediciones pre-post de funciones ejecutivas con observaciones videograbadas y análisis temático. La intervención fortaleció la función ejecutiva global, con mejoras marcadas en la inhibición y la memoria de trabajo, mientras que la flexibilidad cognitiva mostró cambios limitados; el análisis cualitativo indicó que la mediación adulta y la progresión narrativa del software favorecieron desafíos regulados, representación de roles y autorregulación emocional; la exposición moderada se asoció con mayores beneficios sin señales de sobreuso. El juego simbólico digital guiado constituyó una práctica pedagógica eficaz para potenciar la autorregulación cognitiva en la educación inicial bajo condiciones temporales controladas y mediación intencional, aunque sus efectos quedaron circunscritos a dominios ejecutivos específicos y a contextos con recursos tecnológicos y apoyo docente equivalentes.
The study examined the influence of guided digital symbolic play on the development of executive functions in children attending early childhood education. A longitudinal quasi-experimental mixed-methods design compared two groups of pupils who did or did not receive a teacher-mediated digital play intervention; pre- and post-assessments of executive functions were combined with video-based observation and thematic analysis. The intervention significantly strengthened overall executive functioning, with pronounced gains in inhibition and working memory, whereas cognitive flexibility showed limited change; qualitative evidence indicated that adult mediation and the narrative progression of the software fostered regulated challenges, role representation and emotional self-regulation; moderate exposure time was associated with greater gains without signs of overuse. Guided digital symbolic play proved to be an effective pedagogical practice for enhancing cognitive self-regulation in early childhood education under controlled time conditions and intentional mediation, although its effects remained restricted to specific executive domains and to settings with comparable technological resources and teacher support.
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