Impact of structures and free play on the development of socio-emotional skills in early childhood: a focus on conflict resolution and cooperation

This study investigates the impact of structured and free play on the development of social-emotional skills in early childhood children: a focus on conflict resolution and cooperation. The study was based on a quasi-experimental design with two groups of 60 children each: one participated in structured play activities and the other in free play. Over an 8-week period, children's cooperation, conflict resolution, and emotional management skills were assessed before and after the intervention. Results indicated that children who participated in structured play more effectively developed critical social-emotional skills compared to those who participated in free play. This finding allows us to conclude that the integration of structured play activities in the early childhood education curriculum can be an effective strategy to strengthen socio-emotional development in early childhood.