摘要：The background of the study is the historic and cultural conception of development,which considers symbolic activities significant for preschool-age children. Our objectivewas to identify indicators of reflection as an essential feature of preschool developmentduring the acquisition of symbolic actions at three levels: materialized, perceptive, andverbal. The design of the study was descriptive with qualitative and quantitative analysisapplied. Included in this assessment of the development of symbolic function were 180children of preschool age (from 5 to 6 years old) who were in the third year of formalpreschool education in Bogotá, Colombia. Qualitative analysis of the results pointed outspecific indicators of symbolic development at each level. On the materialized level suchindicators were the sequencing of actions with substituted objects, the generalizationof the symbolic features of objects, and a verbal, coherent explanation of the mode ofsubstitution. On the perceptive level the indicators were the generalization of featuresin graphic representations, the possibility of using an image as a strategy for voluntarymemorization, and a verbal explanation of the use of an image as a substitution. On theverbal level reflective explanation of verbal substitution was established as the positiveindicator. The results permit us to posit the usefulness of clear qualitative indicators forassessment of a child’s level of psychological development and readiness for school learningat the end of preschool.
