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Background. Modern developmental psychology increasingly faces the need to integrate psychological techniques and socio-cultural analysis, especially in the context of the transformation of family structures and educational practices. In this context, rethinking classical diagnostic techniques, such as L.A. Venger’s “Polyanka” method, in new social conditions is of particular importance.

Objective. To show the continuity of scientific ideas of L.S. Vygotsky and his school (A.V. Zaporozhets, D.B. Elkonin, L.A. Venger) in modern interdisciplinary research. To rethink L.A. Venger’s “Polyanka” method not only as a diagnostic tool for visual-imaginative thinking, but also as a means of analyzing the “social situation of development” of a preschooler. To identify the influence of family structure (complete/incomplete) and parental educational strategies on the cognitive development of children, in particular, on the success of completing tasks using the “Polyanka” method.

Sample. 623 older preschool children. Additionally, 941 respondents (fathers and mothers) of these children were interviewed using a special parental questionnaire.

Methods. The following research approaches were used to achieve the objective: analysis of the results of diagnostics of children’s visual-imaginative thinking using Venger’s “Polyanka” method; sociological survey of parents using a specially designed questionnaire; qualitative analysis of the obtained data with the identification of significant correlations.

Results. The study found that boys from single-parent families have significantly lower rates of visual-imaginative thinking (21.9 points) according to Venger’s “Polyanka” method compared to boys from complete families (31.4 points), while such a dependence was not found in girls. Divorced mothers are more likely to use strategies that require their sons to follow strict rules in normatively defined situations, in contrast to fathers in complete families who orient their children towards behavior in uncertain conditions. It was also found that the father’s higher education has a positive effect on the results of girls (32.2 points), and for boys, the best results are associated with the mother’s secondary education (27.8 points). The lowest results are in children whose parents do not use encouragement (25.1 points), and the highest are in those who are not punished (31.7 points).

Conclusions. The study confirmed the importance of the scientific legacy of L.A. Venger for modern developmental psychology. A significant influence of family factors on the development of visual-imaginative thinking of preschoolers has been revealed. Differences in the educational strategies of parents in complete and incomplete families were determined. The “Polyanka” method has proven its effectiveness and social validity in modern conditions, and can be effectively used not only for diagnosing cognitive processes, but also as a tool for analyzing the social situation of development, especially in the context of the dynamics of family development.

This paper provides an empirical account of the complex nature of early childhood teachers’ work with growing accountability demands for collecting, reporting, and using child assessment data in the U.S. context. Particularly, this paper focuses on preschool teachers’ experience of changes in their roles and pedagogical work in implementing a criterion-referenced, commercial online child assessment system. In doing so, this paper draws on data from a qualitative research study conducted at four Head Start sites that included semi-structured, individual interviews with six teachers and five child development specialists during three different assessment checkpoint periods; multiple observations of four Head Start classrooms for five months; and an analysis of related documents. The findings from this paper highlight that the use of commercial online childhood assessment system increased and expanded teacher work with additional responsibilities and concomitant change in assessment, curriculum, and pedagogy, as well as their views of themselves as professionals.

The purpose of the article is to show the results of a study on the entropy of functional and subject literacy of children of preschool and primary school age in the conditions of continuity of the preschool (preschool) and primary stages of education. The dominant strategies in educational practice to counter entropy (negentropy models) are identified and analyzed. The empirical basis of the study was educational institutions in Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Leningrad, Novosibirsk regions. In the course of diagnosing the level of development of functional and subject literacy in children of preschool and primary school age, it was found that both types of literacy tend to entropy – to the loss of formed knowledge, skills, universal educational actions, and competencies. The dominant strategies for the formation of functional and subject literacy, identified from the work experience of teachers, have different counteractions to entropy. However, it is not yet completely clear which strategies should be given preference.

The problem is that the selected strategies (models) for countering entropy do not sufficiently take into account bifurcation zones (zones of unexpected loss of formed knowledge and skills); teachers do not always understand what works for functional literacy and what works for subject literacy. how to combine or integrate methodological means of functional literacy and methodological means of subject literacy.

The research methods used were questionnaires, testing, pedagogical observation, pedagogical experiment, generalization of research results at international and all-Russian scientific and practical conferences, and mathematical data processing. In total, 701 teachers (347 kindergarten teachers and 354 primary school teachers) took part in the experiments (diagnostic and formative) over three years (2020-2024), the prerequisites for functional and subject literacy in children 6-7 years old were studied (324 dialogues), as well as functional and subject literacy in children 7-10 years old (453 answers).

The main results of the study were the dominant models: 1) integrated development of functional and subject literacy; 2) parallel development of both literacy; 3) the formation of subject literacy without integration with work on the development of functional literacy. It has been proven that the most effective model for the formation of functional and subject literacy is the model associated with the formation of only subject literacy: this model ensures the development of both subject and functional literacy.

Conclusions: the results of the study indicate that in preschool and school institutions in Russia there are still few variable models that can counteract the entropy of functional and subject literacy of children of preschool and primary school age. Models, technologies, and didactic means of developing functional and subject literacy in children of preschool and primary school age may become promising areas of pedagogical research.