Dialectical Thinking: A Proposed Foundation for a Post-modern Psychology

For the authors, the way from a modern to a post-modern psychology requires dialectical thinking. Dialectical thinking recognizes the importance of contradiction, change, and synthesis; it also includes recognition of the value as well as limits of modern epistemological approaches. The article describes foundations for both ongoing efforts to understand and research the ontogeny of dialectical thinking and for appreciating the scope of dialectical thinking and its relevance for establishing a bridge from modern to post-modern psychology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Psychological Development of Preschoolers in Project-Based Learning: An Overview of Empirical Research

Introduction. The search for technologies to provide the harmonious development of preschoolers through the enrichment of children’s activities inherent in this age period is an urgent task for the modern education system. Recently, along with traditional forms of education, front-line work and free play, project-based learning has become widespread in kindergartens. To clarify the fundamental features of project-based learning and its developmental effects, a review of empirical studies on this topic was conducted. The purpose of the article is to present the results of the review and identify the main trends, limitations and prospects of studying the project-based learning impact on the psychological development of preschoolers. Materials and Methods. The literature review was conducted using the PRISMA. As a result of the search, 789 Russian-language publications and 687 English-language publications corresponding to the search query were found. As a result of screening and selection, 18 studies were included in further qualitative analysis. For the qualitative analysis a validated checklist of questions was used to assess the methodological level of quality of randomized and non-randomized studies (max. score 26). Results. 7 out of 18 studies satisfied less than half of the items on the checklist and scored less than 13 points, which indicates insufficient reliability of the results obtained in these works. As the result it was sufficiently reliably shown that the use of project approach in preschool age can positively affect the development of social and research skills, cognitive abilities, creative abilities and speech. Discussion and Conclusion. The review showed main trends in the field of studying the developmental effects of project-based learning, reflecting possible research directions in this area. The most promising perspectives for further research are connected with the comparison of the project approach with other forms and methods of education, which can contribute to determining the specifics of different educational methods and determining the conditions for their most effective use. The materials of the article would be useful for planning research in the field of child development, as well as for organizing project-based learning in educational institutions

“Complete the Drawing!”: The Relationship between Imagination and Executive Functions in Children

An indirect connection between executive functioning and imagination was revealed earlier in the study of pretend play. This study aimed to explore the relationship between imagination and executive functions in children. Two-hundred-six typically developing children aged 6–7 years were assessed with main executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and nonverbal imagination (imagination flexibility, image detailedness, image creation strategy, and originality coefficient). Three General Linear Models were built to examine the relationship between executive functions and imagination among children, controlling for age and gender. The obtained results indicate a positive correlation between such characteristics of imagination as originality and flexibility with visual-spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility. However, the data also show that the children who creatively approach the production of new images often experience difficulties with inhibition tasks. The results are interpreted in the context of the educational system and cultural specificities

“Complete the Drawing!”: The Relationship between Imagination and Executive Functions in Children

An indirect connection between executive functioning and imagination was revealed earlier in the study of pretend play. This study aimed to explore the relationship between imagination and executive functions in children. Two-hundred-six typically developing children aged 6–7 years were assessed with main executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and nonverbal imagination (imagination flexibility, image detailedness, image creation strategy, and originality coefficient). Three General Linear Models were built to examine the relationship between executive functions and imagination among children, controlling for age and gender. The obtained results indicate a positive correlation between such characteristics of imagination as originality and flexibility with visual-spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility. However, the data also show that the children who creatively approach the production of new images often experience difficulties with inhibition tasks. The results are interpreted in the context of the educational system and cultural specificities

LEV VYGOTSKY’S CULTURAL-HISTORICAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL TOOLS

The article is aimed at describing approaches towards understanding of mediation forms used in educational programs for preschool children as one of the major lines of psychology implementation in Russia. To a large extent, they are based on the cultural-historical approach, developed by Lev Vygotsky and his followers. It is shown how idea of mental tools usage in preschool education evolved and has developed nowadays. According to the cultural-historical theory sample is one of the cultural tools, mastering of which by the child occurs in the zone of proximal development. Another cultural tool is a sign, and especially the word. Followers of Vygotsky elaborated such tools as visual models, schemes, symbols. Implementation of mental tools in educational programs is analyzed in different spheres (speech development, cognitive development, voluntariness development) on the examples of the most spread educational programs in Russia

The polyphony of voices in cultural-historical approaches to play: special issue in honour of Elena Kravtsova and Elena Smirnova

Current research and practice in early years pays special attention to education using play. However, the prospects for play application remain largely unclear. Starting from works of Lev Vygotsky and his followers (D.Elkonin, A.Leontiev) an activity-based approach to play was elaborated. The development of the cultural-historical theory of play was continued in the works of Elena Smirnova and Elena Kravtsova and others. Kravtsova proposed to consider play in the context of zone of proximal development. Play was considered as a tool for stimulating child interest and for solving educational problems. Smirnova studied the influence of toys on the development of play in preschool children. She emphasized the need to preserve children's initiative and spontaneity of play. Contemporary studies explore play in different contexts such as play in the presence of adults, its structure and creative potential, its possibilities to develop executive functions and practice play in a digital world. The results of these studies are presented in this issue and show the relevance of studying the problem of play and its role in education and child development, from a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Perspective

Preliminary statement

In this special issue of the International Journal of Early Years Education (IJEYE) a number of articles are collected on early childhood education – especially on the role of play in children’s development – from the perspective of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. While preparing this issue, a horrifying war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, which deprived many people in the region and worldwide from basic life conditions like safety, freedom, shelter, school, work, and the right to play..

Designing a Scale to Assess Dialectical Thinking: Link to ECERS-R Items

Dialectical thinking is gaining wide circulation as part of personal and social preschool child development in modern society, which makes all the more urgent the task of designing a tool to evaluate the extent to which the educational environment in a pre-school establishment supports the development of dialectical thinking in preschoolers. To implement this task, the researchers analyzed the ECERS-R as a means for assessing the quality of preschool education and concluded that this tool fails to focus on rating the environment in terms of the development of dialectical thinking. N.Ye. Veraksa and E.V. Sviridova designed a tool for assessing how well the educational environment supports dialectical thinking in preschoolers (the scale of dialectical thinking support (DTS scale). The research into the use of the DTS scale was conducted in 18 preparatory groups of three educational complexes in Moscow in February–April 2019. The comparison of the results on the DTS scale and those on the ECERS-R scale made it possible to conclude that the ECERS-R scale does not differentiate between the stimulation of dialectical thinking and formally logical thinking in preschool age children. The use of the newly designed tool was justified statistically. It is noted that the teacher activity in line with the ECERS-R scale scores of “Stimulating Communication with Children”, “Books and Illustrations”, “Using Speech to Develop Cognitive Skills” may be associated with decreased levels of support for children’s dialectical thinking in preschool educational institutions. In addition, a positive relationship was found to exist between the ECERS-R score of “Care-Giver and Children Interaction” and DTS scale. The results obtained make it possible to hypothesize that there are interrelations between the development of dialectic thinking in children, on the one hand, and voluntariness and the emotional sphere, on the other