Kravtsova E.E. Child play in Vygotskian psychology

Kravtsova E.E. Child play in Vygotskian psychology // Preschool Education Today. 2011, Issue 1 - p. 44-51.

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

2011, 1

Elena. E. Kravtsova
Doctor of psychological sciences, professor, Director of L. S. Vygotsky Institute of Psychology of Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

In L.S. Vigotsky’s view, the main criterion describing child play is an imaginary situation representing a domain between the real (optic) and the symbolic (imaginary). At this, its participants must simultaneously be within and outside of such play situation. Therefore a play incorporates both imaginary and real-life interrelations of its participants. The article describes evolution of a play in preschool, school, adolescent and adult years, and its value in each life-span from the viewpoint of Cultural-historical Theory of L.S. Vygotsky.