How do I compare Vygotsky and Piaget and their theories on how plays help social development in the early years?

Both Vygotsky and Piaget were interested in normal cognitive and social development. For Vygotsky, imaginative or make-believe play has significant contributions for child development because it depends on (or makes use of) the dual function of language, as both a cultural tool and symbolic system of communication. This suggests language is of utmost importance for Vygotsky -- since it is how we make sense of the world. Play facilitates the transition from external regulation by...

Both Vygotsky and Piaget were interested in normal cognitive and social development. For Vygotsky, imaginative or make-believe play has significant contributions for child development because it depends on (or makes use of) the dual function of language, as both a cultural tool and symbolic system of communication. This suggests language is of utmost importance for Vygotsky -- since it is how we make sense of the world. Play facilitates the transition from external regulation by others to self-regulation of one's cognitive processes and thought through making use of language in role playing. For Piaget, play is not just a process of (social) learning, but first and foremost an indicator of a (biological) developmental stage. Instead of foregrounding a more constitutive relationship between language, socialization, learning, and development, Piaget suggests all children (cognitively) develop into adulthood through the same four stages: sensorimotor (ages 0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), formal operational (11-adult). Thus, the first stage concerned with one's own body and its separation (discreetness) from external objects is expressed (and monitored) through modes of play such as peekaboo. The second stage characterized by a search for causality outside the self is marked by make-believe/role-playing modes of play. The next stage, which d the emergence of logical operations, is associated with play governed by strict rules. Lastly, with fully developed reason, plays takes on the form of highly competitive and codified games.