Anna N. Iakshina

Background. Play and storytelling, despite their unique developmental significance, rarely occur spontaneously in preschool settings. While various theoretical perspectives exist regarding the relationship between these two activities in early childhood, the developmental dynamics of play and storytelling, as well as the nature of their interconnection, remain empirically underexplored.

Objectives. To analyze the dynamic of development of both play and storytelling in preschool-aged children and establish the nature of their interrelation.

Sample. 44 preschoolers (5–7 y.o.) (mean age in months=74,18, Med=73, Sd=9,52).

Methods. To assess the dynamic of storytelling over 7 months, teachers in each group collected children’s stories that the children drew and composed voluntarily. The assessment of play level dynamics was conducted twice using E.O. Smirnova’s method, with a 7-month interval.

Results. Uneven dynamics in the development of storytelling were revealed, significant negative correlations were found between the delta of the total play score, interaction level, play idea with the dynamics of storytelling (quantity and level of story composition). The sample contained no children who composed many stories while having low play levels, while there were many children with good play skills who did not compose stories.

Conclusions. Play and storytelling are different types of symbolic activity of the child, which develop not parallel to each other, but sequentially. Based on the obtained results, it can be assumed that children first master cultural means of creating plots and characters in joint play, and only then begin to use them in stories. For the development of story composition, the rich experience of joint play in the child is necessary.

Relevance. Currently, in most preschool groups there is a minimum level of quality conditions for supporting play. The task is to improve the quality of play support. The article examines the developing potential of regular practice of storytelling as a part of indirect play support in preschool setting.

The aim of the study: to analyze the influence of regular storytelling experience on the development of pretend play.

Methods. 38 children aged 6-7 years from two preschool groups took part in a pedagogical experiment (duration – 7 months). For the initial and repeated assessment of the level of play development we used E.O. Smirnova’s diagnostic tool and the “challenge-response” parameter (L.I. Elkoninova); to assess the level of imagination development – the tool “Where is whose place?” (E.E. Kravtsova). In the experimental group, conditions were created for regular practice of storytelling based on children’s drawings. The results of the pedagogical experiment were assessed by the presence of a shift in the level of development of play and imagination in the experimental and control groups before and after the pedagogical experiment.

Results. Based on the analysis of more than 600 children’s stories, 3 types of children’s stories were identified and 5 trajectories of development of children’s storytelling were described. During the experiment, children moved from a description and sequence of actions to more complex structure with culmination. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the level of development of play and imagination before and after the pedagogical experiment (p<0.01) only in the experimental group.

Conclusions. Regular storytelling is a significant condition for the development of the cognitive aspect of the play associated with substitution, symbolic actions of the child, plot features, as well as the affective side of play associated with the creation of a situation of challenge and response. Storytelling can be seen not as the only necessary condition for the development of play, but as an additional condition (part of indirect support) that expands the capabilities of children playing. The results can be used in developing a strategy for complex play support in preschool organizations.

Background. Storytelling and play with an imaginary situation are important components of a high-quality preschool education, but in the scientific field there are very few studies that analyze the nature of their relationship in preschool age.

Objective: to analyze the interrelation between pretend play of preschoolers and the key features of individual storytelling.

Methods. The study involved 56 children aged 6-7 years. To study the features of the development of play in preschoolers, we used the play diagnostic tool of E.O. Smirnova and the “challenge-response” parameter of L.I. Elkoninova. To study the characteristics of children’s narratives (stories invented based on their own drawings) – the method by O.A. Shiyan «Three Stories».

Results. The sample included children with both high and low levels of development of pretend play (mean= 19.55, sd= 5.34, min=6, max=30), 26.7% of children were found to have “challenge-response” play. Most often, when creating narratives, children used normative (mean=3.86, sd=2.21) and symbolic means (mean=1.48, sd=1.9). A significant interrelation was found between the level of development of play and symbolic and normative means in children’s narratives (p<0.01).

Conclusion. Overall score according to the method of E.O. Smirnova, as well as such parameters of play as play substitution and play idea, turned out to be associated with both symbolic and normative means in children’s narratives. The ability to create a symbolic character in storytelling and action from a role in play, spatial and subject substitution have a similar mechanism and imply the ability not only to create, but to deploy and maintain one’s image. The interrelation indicates a similarity in the use of normative means when constructing play plots and creating individual stories. The results can be used in developing a strategy for complex play support in preschool organizations, as well as in professional development programs for preschool teachers.

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of development of imagination in modern preschoolers. The article analyzes the currently relevant problem of continuity of family and preschool education. As a way to solve the problem it suggests that groups involving kids of different ages should be set up in kindergartens. Such groups are considered as being similar to a children’s natural community that exists in large families. The article provides the results of their study into the imagination in agediverse preschool groups and those of the same age, it identifies and describes the psychological conditions for development of imagination in preschool years as it shows advantages of children’s education and upbringing in agedivers groups. It provides recommendations on how to organize psychological work with preschoolers. The findings described in this article may be of interest to psychologists, educators and other professionals who deal with preschool children.

Introduction. The paper examines the necessity of public urban playgrounds for children. Psychological and pedagogical studies reveal that the quantity and quality of outdoor play areas do not cover the needs of children. The authors monitored playgrounds in different areas of Moscow, Russia in order to explore the actual situation in the urban space from the perspective of well balanced development and spontaneous outdoor learning of children of different ages. They looked into how existing public playgrounds covered the needs of children, and if the outdoor learning was possible.

Methods. The study had two stages. The data was collected by structured non-participant observation with interview elements in which 24 public playgrounds in Moscow were involved, 417 adults were interviewed. The authors carried out an analysis of the equipment of playgrounds, and children activities to determine whether and how far playgrounds were used for communication in mixed age groups.

Analysis and Results. The authors analyzed characteristics of playgrounds, including: location, observation time, age and number of visitors, equipment and its arrangement, presented play areas and infrastructure, surface materials, individual and group activities of children and adults. The observation discovered that children of three different ages (early, preschool and school age) were using public playgrounds at the same time. The vast majority of the playgrounds near apartment blocks (76.9%) and almost a half of the playgrounds in parks (45.5%) had separated play areas for children of different ages, which largely meets the needs of parents. The qualitative analysis revealed that the equipment of the park playgrounds was more diverse, while almost a half of the playgrounds near apartment blocks (53.8%) showed one and the same type of equipment. The authors emphasize that, both playgrounds near apartment blocks and playgrounds in parks, were more focused on active exercises; most components of the equipment were of the same type and had closed character. The authors discovered lack of equipment for experimenting. The infrastructure of the playgrounds of both types showed that the playgrounds were considered as a space for children only, the interests and needs of adults coming with children were not taken into account.

Conclusion. The study indicates the need to create additional conditions for supporting and developing of children’s game, and increasing educational capacity of playgrounds. Among the measures proposed by the authors is increasing the educational capacity of playgrounds, and creating a citywide digital resource with a map and description of psychological and pedagogical characteristics of outdoor areas for children. An important role is given to educational work with families, that will increase the parental competence and responsibility in the field of educational structuring and outdoor learning.

One of the major challenges of the mainstream professional development programs is their focus on mastering individual knowledge and technologies instead of creating conditions for the development of teachers themselves. In particular, instead of their critical thinking and reflection, while it is reflexion that allows teachers to qualitatively change the educational process, while keeping in focus both children’s interests and abilities and cultural development objectives. This article addresses approaches to the understanding of self-reflexion and proposes a model of self-reflexive professional action. The authors, following the logic of the cultural-historical approach by Lev Vygotsky, Daniil Elkonin and Georgy Shchedrovitsky, consider the visual model of the results of children’s development, the visual model of professional action, the model of self-reflexive solution, the positions of the “defender”, the “critique” and the “voice of the child” as the means for the development of self-reflexion. The use of these tools became the basis for a specially developed program of professional development for early childhood teachers, in which teachers are offered the following tasks: immersion in children’s activities, analysis of video of both own and others’ practices, and the creation of “Navigators”. The article also presents such a tool for studying reflexive observation as a “Professional Eyewear”, which allows to evaluate such aspects of self-reflexive action as the ability to orientate oneself to the tasks of children’s development, the ability to observe children and the ability to see the causal connection between the actions of a teacher and the behavior and emotions of children. The annex to the article formulates the main stages and principles of building a program aimed at the development of self-reflection among teachers.

Relevance (context) of the article. Play is important not only for the full life of preschool childhood, but also for the formation of psychological readiness for school. Play support is one of the key aspects of high-quality practice. At the same time, the analysis of existing studies shows that the level of development of preschool children’s play remains low, and the conditions for it are at a minimum level. To change this situation, an objective analysis of the practice is necessary, highlighting the strengths and points of growth.

The aim of the study. Development and testing of the scale “Support for Children’s Play” (SCP) as a tool for assessing and developing the quality of the educational environment of the kindergarten.

Description of the research progress. A scale was developed and tested, consisting of 97 indicators, grouped into 7 indicators. The scale design corresponds to the instruments of the ECERS family. The course of instrument validation in 32 preschool groups is described: checking the internal consistency of the instrument (Alpha-Cronbach), reliability by the method of inter-expert consistency, checking the validity and determining the discriminative function by the method of contrast groups (the significance of differences in the Welch-modification t-tests and the Mann-Whitney shift criteria).

Research results. Statistical analysis showed that the scale has good internal consistency (Alpha-Cronbach coefficient = 0.89), validity (differences between contrast groups are significant at the level of 0.01, p-value = 7.294e-06 according to Welch-t-test, p-value = 0.0002733 according to Wilcoxon test) and sufficient reliability (the average model of deviations of paired inter-expert assessments was 0.47 points, which is significantly lower than the standard deviation for the total score of the entire sample (sd = 1.1695).

Conclusion. The SCP scale can be applied not only for external expert assessment and self-assessment, but also as a tool for the professional development of a teacher in order to reflect on his own strategy for supporting the play and finding growth points. The article proposes measures to improve the tool in order to increase reliability, including the development of a training program for experts.

The article analyzes modern studies of the play of preschool children, identifies a set of conditions necessary for its development, including three groups of parameters: characteristics of the subject-spatial environment, teacher–children interaction, support for children’s interaction. The crisis of the play disappearance is seen as an opportunity to establish a dialogue between researchers from different countries, rethink existing programs, eliminate the contradiction of the visibility of the play and at the same time its absence in kindergarten, and strengthen the conditions that support the true game. The greatest educational potential has an open, transformable environment that challenges the child, and the partner position of an adult who does not exploit the game for educational purposes, but supports children’s interaction and co-construction of the game plan. For optimal support of the game at preschool age, the teacher must also provide access to a variety of multifunctional materials, structure the program so that children have enough free time to play during the day, create conditions for communication and joint play of children of different ages.

The relevance of the topic of the article. Over the past 10 years, the level of development of the play of modern preschoolers continues to remain low. The researchers note the existence of different interpretations of the concept of “play“, which complicates the formation of a dialogue and provokes a gap between the declared value of the play and real practice. However, one of the possible reasons for the low level of development of the play in studies from different countries may also be the limitations of existing methods of studying the play. To conduct research on the conditions of the development of the play and its influence on children’s development, a special role is played by the selection of diagnostic techniques that should make it possible to see play in development.

The aim of the study: to analyze the advantages and limitations of existing diagnostic methods for children’s play.

Description of the research progress. In total, 18 methods were selected, the analysis included a comparison of different tools in terms of the possibility of assessing the development of play according to the following parameters: the method of studying the play, the features of the procedure and conditions of observation, the role of the observer, the evaluated aspects of children’s play.

Research results. A number of techniques have been identified that are most suitable for a comprehensive assessment of play, including for evaluating a developed play. The key deficiencies of existing methods were also identified: the contradiction of the evaluation procedure to the features of spontaneous play, the lack of an integrated approach to the study and focus on the affective side of the play, identifying only the current level of development of the play without taking into account its potential capabilities. The development of tools that allow us to see the play in development is a challenge for modern researchers.

Relevance. In the modern world more researchers and practitioners from different fields are preoccupied with the changing the shape of a child in society: a child is not an object of pedagogical influence, but a subject whose opinion is valuable and should be taken into account when making decisions that directly concern him. The possibility for children to be heard at preschool age is an important basis for the development of civic competencies that do not appear by themselves at an older age. At the same time, the researchers also note that there is a gap between the recognition of the value of child and real practice. The possibility not only to hear the voices of young children, but also to make them visible and significant in society, to offer children the means of expressing their opinions is a methodological challenge for researchers and practitioners of preschool education, which requires special competencies.

The aim of the study is to analyze modern studies and projects devoted to the professional competencies of a teacher and the conditions accompanying their development necessary for the implementation of the principle of participation in educational practice.

Description of the research progress. 19 studies and projects were analyzed from the point of view of the possibilities and limitations of the implementation of the principle of participation in educational practice. Two key aspects were identified: the possibilities and limitations of the implementation of the principle of participation in educational practice, which include teachers’ ideas about participation and the influence of the broader context of the community and organizational culture, and professional competencies of teachers necessary for support their participation in kindergarten and primary school, and approaches to their development.

The results of the study. In the article the problem of implementing the principle of participation is considered not only in the context of the structure of a separate preschool group, but also in the organizational culture of the kindergarten as a whole. The authors conclude that it is necessary to reflect on the ideas of participation in order to create conditions for its support in kindergarten, as well as the need for a comprehensive study of factors related to the organizational culture of the kindergarten, which can influence the development of participatory practices. Based on the analysis, two groups of pedagogical competencies were identified: general competencies necessary to create basic conditions for participation, and more specific competencies necessary to empower children’s opportunities to influence decision-making.

Conclusion. The article formulates recommendations for training preschool teachers and kindergarten teams.

The relevance of the topic of the article. In Russia, mixed-age groups in kindergartens are an exception rather than a popular practice. There is a contradictory attitude towards kindergarten mixed-age groups in the community of researchers and practitioners: from the recognition of the value of mixed-age groups for the development of preschoolers to the concerns associated with the treatment of older or younger children in such groups. Discussion of the advisability of organizing groups of different ages in kindergartens should be conducted taking into account the peculiarities of the influence of the experience of visiting such groups and interacting with children of a different age on the development of children. This requires an analysis of existing scientific research.

The aim of the study is to analyze empirical studies on the peculiarities of the interaction of children in mixed-age groups and the influence of mixed-age groups on the development of preschool children.

Description of the research progress. In accordance with the purpose of the review, criteria for selecting sources were developed, a search was carried out in Russian-language and English-language scientific databases. A total of 15 articles were selected in peer-reviewed journals that met all the selection criteria. The depth of analysis is 44 years, the sources represent the experience of 4 countries.

The results of the study. The analysis of the sources showed that for the development of preschoolers, it is not the fact of attending mixed-age groups that matters, but the qualitative features of such groups: the size of the difference in age between older and younger children, the ratio of older and younger, the difference in the level of development between older and younger, the type of relationship between children and the style of pedagogical interaction. As part of the review, the main limitations of existing research are analyzed, and directions for future research are formulated. It is concluded that it is necessary to develop programs for the professional development of teachers working in mixed-age groups.

Conclusion. The article may be of interest both to practitioners interested in the organization of mixed-age groups in kindergarten, and to researchers of preschool education.