According to Lev S. Vygotsky (1896-1934), the highest levels of abstract thinking and self-regulation in preschool development are established in "pretend play using object substitutions." An extensive research literature supports Vygotsky's empirical model of the internalization of self-guiding speech (social speech > private speech…

The article presents conceptual ideas, experience and results of the formation of cognitive motivation in junior-school age group children in extracurricular activities institutions. Such ideas include the junior school-age children motivation's structure, characteristics, basic pedagogical conditions, educational contents, and the criteria of the…

This article overviews the theoretical and applied works of the psychologist and pedagogue Leonid Zankov. Zankov's model of teaching is based on Vygotsky's theory that appropriate teaching methods stimulate cognitive development, whose core notion is the Zone of Proximal Development. This educational psychology research was verified by large scale…

This study explores patterns of development in cognitive, as well as social and emotional skills for children in the first year of school in Russia. The data analyzed are drawn from the International Performance Indicators in Primary Schools project. This is a large-scale assessment project involving 2741 children from two Russian regions. A…

Child development involves the process of mastering cultural tools, which modify relations with the world and provide the means to act on the self. A sign is a universal cultural tool, but these tools are not the same for all ages. The problem of specifying development becomes one of finding the tools that children use in their activity.…

Harmonizing relations between children and parents is one of the priority objectives of social-pedagogical activity whose purpose is to create conditions favorable to the successful development of the child and the strengthening of the family's upbringing potential. This is necessitated by the fact that the upbringing and other vital functions of…

Noting that the previous two decades have seen Lev Vygotsky's psychology become highly influential while the psychology of other theoretical giants has faded, this book provides a major intellectual biography about Vygotsky's theories and their relationship to twentieth-century Russian and Western intellectual culture. The book traces Vygotsky's…

Presents the findings of a study that was designed to determine approaches to the content of correctional-upbringing work with limited-ability children of preschool age. Considers aspects of correctional-upbringing work with preschool age children who have abnormalities in mental development. (CMK)

What kind of developmental potential is present in elementary schoolchildren but hindered by the traditional type of education? Half a century ago Daniel El'konin and Vasili Davydov, the leaders of Russian Vygotskian educational psychology started answering this question. They suggested that reflection is a basic human ability and it can be…

Reports on a study of Russian parental attitudes regarding appropriate age of initial school attendance and decisions regarding secondary education. Finds that 80% of parents of young children support kindergarten education. Includes 14 tables of data from the study. (CFR)

We compared health status, anthropometric and psychological development of 123 children adopted before 18 months of age from China, East Asia (Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia), and Eastern Europe (mostly Russia). Data were collected close to the time of arrival, and 3 and 6 months later. Anthropometric measures included weight,…