2017, 10
2017, 10
p. 14–21
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575
This article presents a review of recent international studies on the problem of the creativity in childhood. The appeal to the problem of children’s creativity is methodologically set forth by the cultural-historical theory of L. Vygotsky. Unlike the works of Russian authors considering the problem of creativity in the context of the imagination, activity and creative potential of the individual, international authors focus on more particular research: cross-cultural differences in creativity, the relationship between pedagogical activity and the creativity of children, the effects of fixation on creativity, divergent thinking in the context of creativity etc. The article provides the review results of recent research in the field of developmental psychology where the problem of creativity is discussed in four ways. The first line of research combines resources which provide the theoretical underpinning of creativity and contemplate its structure. The second considers creativity in its cultural context. The third discusses creativity of teachers. The fourth reflects specific empiric studies of creativity in the childhood. These studies are both theoretical and empirical. The finding confirm the relevance of the study of creativity precisely in childhood, since the development and formation of the personality begins at an early age, therefore it is important to take into account the specificity of creativity in relation to and in interaction with other mental processes and personal states in early ontogeny.
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2017, 10
p. 22–32
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544
This article describes a longitudinal study on the perception of the world by senior preschool children carried out in Moscow as an example of the modern approach to the analysis of psychological characteristics of early childhood. Studies over the course of recent decades have seen young children as active and full-fledged participants in the research process and were eager to listen and to hear the child’s voice. New methodological approaches were developed, such as phenomenological, narrative, “mosaic”, and others. New diagnostic techniques that use these approaches have been created. Conditions for effective research involving younger children were studied, and reliable and adequate information was obtained from them. The Moscow longitudinal study was launched in 1992, at the beginning of fundamental social and economic reforms in Russia. It was aimed to analyze the impact of changes in the country on the views of senior preschool children. The study involved six-year-olds attending preschools in Moscow. Using a structural approach, each child was interviewed about their views on their life, themselves, as well as the latest developments in Russia and in the world. Six surveys have been completed to date. Each survey was associated with significant social, economic, and political changes in Russia. The research was continued in 2016-2017. The qualitative analysis as its main research method, which allows researchers to see children’s life through their own eyes, assess new opportunities and risks for their development in the modern world was implemented. This is the only Russian study that covers more than two decades which not only reveals the characteristics of the attitudes of children in a particular social environment but also documents the changes in these characteristics.
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2017, 10
p. 38–49
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375
This article presents findings on the particularities of cooperation between senior preschool children in various kinds of activities. The lines of research on the problem of cooperation between children are revealed. The findings of the empirical research are given. The sample consists of 64 senior preschoolers. The methods of E. Kravtsova’s “Labirint” and schemes of observation on the play activity of children, based on the methods of E. Smirnova and V. Holmogorovoy are used. Based on the obtained results, it is shown that in most children the ability to cooperate when accomplishing a general task is at the stage of development. The study reveals that although there is a high level of some features of cooperation in the free play of children, there are some difficulties in areas such as problem solving, planning of collaborative activity, taking initiatives, listening to peers and standing their ground, assigning roles on their own, and following the rules of the play. The effective mechanism for cooperative skills development in senior preschoolers is the organization of their collaborative cognitive and research activities in the context of a consolidated “learning community”, which main intent is the development of general goals and objectives of activity, and a joint search for ways to solve these problems.
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2017, 10
p. 50–59
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1103
The study considers the problem of the development of children’s personality in the system of preschool education. The analysis is focused on issues related to the influence of the quality of the educational environment and its developing psychological and pedagogical potential on the formation of children’s subjectivity. At present, one of the most important issues in psychology is the study of the development and formation of the child’s psyche in the process of interaction with their environment. The research is based on concepts and approaches to the educational environment as the source of the person’s mental development (L.S. Vygotsky, V.I. Slobodchikov, V.A. Yasvin); the systemic-environmental approach in education (A. Bandura, K. Rogers, I.A. Baeva, V.A. Yasvin); and statements on the development of the psyche and the formation of the personality as a subject of development during activities (B.G. Ananyev, L.S. Vygotsky, D.B. Elkonin, L.V. Alekseeva). The results of the study of the quality of the educational environment in early childhood confirm that all the preschool institutions in Russia have different capacities and developing potential. According to the results of the cluster analysis, four distinctive modern types of educational environments with different capacities were identified. Tendencies towards associating the quality parameters of the educational environment and the subjectivity of children were revealed, as well as significant differences in the subjective characteristics of preschool children in different types of educational environments. A “stimulating productive educational environment” and a “learning environment” contribute to the development of passivity and dependence in the child, while a “heuristic educational environment” and a “creative environment” are characterized by their focus on the free development of the active child and the unlocking of personal potential.
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2017, 10
p. 67–75
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428
The growing interest in researching and documenting young children’s perspectives and experiences, has led to an increasing use of visual methods, such as photograps and videos. Studies to date, however, have seen artifacts as neutral tools, and have not revealed the differences between the functions of visual artifacts in the research process, and their functions in children’s lives more broadly. In view of this, we scrutinize the function of visual artifacts, using Wenger’s notion of reification, Vygotsky’s idea of mediation, and Wartofsky’s historical epistemology. We enliven the theoretical discussion by featuring illustrative vignettes from our previous study conducted at a Finnish preschool. We then discuss the consequences of our analysis in terms of documentation, and joint reflections that capture and construct the children’s experiences. A number of educational implications are highlighted.
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