Chesnokova O.B., Tarasova K.S. Are All Children Ready for Competition?

Keywords: game competitive preschool age younger school age competitive behavior constructive and non-constructive

Chesnokova O.B., Tarasova K.S. Are All Children Ready for Competition? // Preschool Education Today. 2016, Issue 6 - p. 46–57.

This work is licensed under a Сreative Commons Atribiution - NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

2016, 6

Kristina S. Tarasova
Researcher, Department of Methodology of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

Olga B. Chesnokova
PhD in Psychology, Associate Professor of Department of Developmental Psychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

The article deals with issues related to the characteristics of competitive situations in general, and those involving games, in particular, that may have a positive and a negative effect on child development depending on their age characteristics and individual characteristics. Article examines the place of competitive games in the lives of younger schoolchildren compared to those of preschoolers and their relationship with learning, the dominant activity of this age. Based on the proposed diagnostic methodology different constructive and non-constructive types of competitive behavior in competitive game situations involving older preschoolers and primary school children are described. Based on the selection of ineffective behaviors authors pose the question about the criteria determining children’s readiness for competitive situations in the preschool and early school ages.