Cultural-historical Concept Research Articles

Conceptual PlayWorlds: A transformational model for children’s learning and development in an early childhood education setting in Indonesia

Structured and teacher-directed play focused on children’s academic outcomes has proven problematic in Indonesian early childhood education. This contrasts with the PlayWorlds model, which emphasises both the primary activity of play and conceptual learning. However, there has been little research in Indonesia on the pedagogical aspects of the PlayWorlds model in creating conditions for children’s learning and development. The purpose of this study is to highlight the distinctive pedagogical and contextual aspects of Indonesian PlayWorlds by investigating how the implementation of the PlayWorlds model creates conditions for children’s learning and development. Using cultural-historical concepts to analyse the data, the findings reveal a transformational model of PlayWorlds that highlights five key elements: teachers’ role as play partners, the dialectical meaning-making process, degrees of freedom, motives and contradictions, and the unity of emotion and cognition. This model is shown to support pedagogical concepts and practices by providing opportunities for children’s development in play through the integration of imaginative, cognitive and affective skills. It is argued that the transformative paradigm of PlayWorlds as an innovative play pedagogy holds promise for children’s learning and development, while recognising play as their primary activity.

Развитие понятия «знак» в культурно-исторической психологии Л.С. Выготского: истоки и перспективные направления исследований. Часть 1.

<p>The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of cultural and historical psychology. Taking in consideration the growing demand for the ideas and positions of cultural-historical psychology in the world professional community started in 1978 and continues to this day, we have to highlight a number of emerging problems. Without the analysis of these problems it is impossible to further develop the theory itself. Firstly, it is the variety of interpretations and readings of the theoretical foundations of cultural-historical psychology that have emerged over the past decades. Secondly, it is the transformation of the conceptual apparatus of cultural-historical psychology into a "screen" for eclectic and purely empirical constructions of modern research aimed at studying the problems of the development and structure of consciousness and higher psychological functions. At the same time, it is possible to truly understand Vygotsky's concept only on the basis of an analysis of the genesis, content and interrelation of those concepts that make up the methodology of cultural-historical psychology. This article examines the concept of "sign", which is one of the key concepts in the cultural-historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky. The aim is to reconstruct the path that the author of cultural-historical psychology himself took in determining the place and role of this concept in the holistic theoretical and methodological structure of the concept he developed.</p>

Studying children's motives in mathematical problem-solving during transition from kindergarten to school: A Conceptual PlayWorld approach

Developing children's mathematical problem-solving is important to promote children's deep understanding of mathematical concepts and future academic success. Acknowledging that play-based approaches can support mathematical learning, limited research explores how imaginative play creates conditions for children's mathematical problem-solving in the kindergarten period during the transition to school. To support children's mathematical problem-solving in this period, this study drew upon the cultural-historical concept of play and motives and adapted Li and Disney's (2021) Conceptual PlayWorld in mathematics (CPW) by conducting an educational experiment. This research investigated how CPW created motivating conditions in supporting children's learning motive in mathematical problem-solving in the kindergarten period during the transition to school. Video observations of teacher-child interactions during the CPW on the mathematical concepts of informal measurement of area and partial units were analysed. This study followed the focus child William's intentions and motives, revealing that CPW created motivating conditions for a dialectical transformation between play motives and mathematical learning motives. We argued that the collective and emotionally charged CPW encouraged children's continuous exploration of the dramatised mathematics problem, thus developing mathematical learning motives. The development of mathematical learning motive also contributed to play motive to engage with the play narrative. This study enriched the empirical evidence of the CPW approach, supporting kindergarten children's mathematical problem-solving in the kindergarten period during the transition to school.

Динамика самоотношения, академической мотивации и самооценок учебной активности студентов в их взаимосвязях

The article presents the results of the study of the dynamics of the relationship between self-attitude, academic motivation and self-estimates of students’ educational activity. The modern society requires for high-quality mul-tidimensional training and for students to develop not only knowledge, skills and abilities, but also the ability for self-knowledge, positive self-attitude and self-actualization. The aim of the study is to investigate the dynamics of interrelationships of student’s self-attitude, academic motivation and self-esteem of educational and research activity. The methodological basis of the study is the cultural-historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky, the system-structural approach of K.K. Platonov, V.N. Myasishchev, et al..; the activity approach of B.G. Ananyev, B.F. Lomov, A.N. Leontiev. A decrease in self-attitude, academic motivation and self-estimate of the subjective experience of students’ educational activity was revealed as they progressed through the stages of educational activity, as well as academic amotivation increases. Motivation for academic activities and subjective experience in educational activities have little influence on the formation of students’ self-attitude. The self-attitude of students is most strongly correlated with the mo-tives of achievement and cognition. It weakly correlates with academic motivation, and the dynamics of this rela-tionship is negative.

Культурно-историческая концепция О. Шпенглера в современной российской историографии

The article examines the main trends in the analysis of the cultural and historical concept of the author of the “Decline of Europe” in Russian humanitarian thought of the late XX–XXI centuries. The authors of the article have studied the modern stage of Russian humanitarian thought, within the framework of which the process of transition from Soviet ideological and methodological monism to methodological pluralism in the study of O. Spengler’s legacy is taking place. Having studied the works of historians, philosophers, cultural scientists, sociologists, political scientists and other representatives of Russian humanitarian thought, the authors analyzed modern interpretations and modern perception of O. Spengler’s cultural and historical concept in the Russian humanities. The article proves that the crisis of the methodology of humanitarian cognition of Soviet Marxism opens up for domestic researchers completely new theoretical and methodological approaches to the interpretation of O. Spengler’s cultural-historical concept, which, as a result, will affect the development of modern Russian historiography.

The quality of interaction with children in collective play: Children's agency

AbstractThere is a growing body of studies on increasing the quality of infant–toddler education and care. Yet little attention has been directed towards how to bring toddlers' agency and perspective to their personally meaningful learning in collective play. In this paper, we draw on cultural–historical concepts of agency, play and imagination to investigate toddlers' collective play with their teacher. We explain how the teacher can take the toddlers' perspectives and values and acknowledge toddlers' agency in play, to sustain and share toddlers' agentic imagination, thus supporting their play engagement and personally meaningful learning. Herein, we select and analyse one activity in which six toddlers (aged 2–3 years, mean 2.6 years) collectively play with teachers in Melbourne, Australia. We use visual narrative methodology to perform a deep analysis of the dynamic interactions in the collective play. The lens is centred on toddlers' agency and perspectives and the dynamic interactions between them and their teacher in collective play, through which their agentic imagination is sustained. In contrast to previous studies which focus on the teacher's role in play with infants–toddlers to monitor the surrounding dangers, arrange the play space and observe from a distance, the results of this study identify how toddlers' perspectives and agency in play can be valued and acted on by the teacher in collective play, to support toddlers' meaningful learning and improve the quality of play in early childhood education.

Perezhivanie: An investigation into drama and emotions as children enter a conceptual Playworld

A growing number of studies have investigated play in early childhood education, with some bringing forward the development of emotions in imaginary play situations. Of significance, is the creative pedagogy of play developed by Lindqvist (1995) who drew on a cultural-historical concept of play to bring forward emotions in Playworld. This paper investigates how children experience different perezhivanie within the Playworld settings in Indonesia. The cultural-historical concept of play, perezhivanie, and the social situation of development are used to understand how a 4-year-old boy experienced contradictions during collective imaginary play. Eight hours of digital-visual observation data selected from 98 h of group-play activities were used to show how nine teachers interacted with 38 children during the play (3.5 to 5 years old, mean age 4.4 years). The findings show how the cultural device used in the Playworld provides rich opportunities and conditions for children to experience different emotions in play, and where a dynamic perezhivanie emerges through the contributions of the play partners to the play that results in development of emotional regulation. By drawing attention to children's perezhivanie, Playworld can be seen as a promising play pedagogy that offers rich social interactions in play that support children's development.

The Hidden and Invisible: Supporting Science Learning in Infant-Toddler Group Settings

ABSTRACT Science concept formation has a long history in early childhood educational research. Most of the studies in the field focus on the way children form science concepts as preschoolers. However, less is known about the nature of science concept formation for children under 3 years of age. This study explores how early childhood teachers create the conditions for the formation of science concepts for infants. The research design drew on the Conceptual PlayWorld model, a collective form of practice for learning and development through imagination and play. Thirteen infants with a mean age of 1.2 years (1 year and 3 months) participated in the study. Visual methods were used for digital data collection and analysis. The analysis drew upon the cultural-historical concepts of the interrelation between everyday and scientific concepts and the concept of real and ideal forms. The analysis foregrounded four key elements for introducing science concepts in infants’ everyday educational reality: 1) making meaningful interrelations between the everyday concept and the scientific concept, 2) consistently using scientific language, 3) using appropriate analogies, and 4) using early forms of a scientific method. The overall findings open new understandings about the nature of science concept formation of infants, informing pedagogical practice in this under-researched area.

Value-meaningful conceptualisation of educational material in the process of foreign language teaching at the university: A hermeneutic approach

Introduction. One of the main tasks of teaching foreign languages for professional purposes is the formation of professional communicative competence of students. In this regard, it is important for university teachers to create conditions for students to master the methods and techniques of productive communication, not only from the perspective of language and culture, but also their future profession. In addition to the logical and rational aspect, it is important for pedagogical students to focus on the value and semantic significance of educational information, to deeply understand rather than to memorise information, to be emotionally “engaged” into knowledge, filling it with personal meaning, in order to avoid formal mastering of pedagogical profession. This is possible in the context of the value and semantic conceptualisation of acquired knowledge, which is carried out in the process of interpreting and structuring the content of training by the principle of linguistic concept.Aim. The present research aims to substantiate the content, methods, techniques and forms of value meaningful conceptualisation of educational material in the process of teaching foreign languages to pedagogical students.Methodology and research methods are based on the study of the value-semantic foundations of pedagogical practice with reference to the cultural-historical concept; on the phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, aimed at the actualisation of the interpretive potential of the teaching content; on the utilisation of the methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, comparison, modelling, and methods of inclusive observation. The empirical study was conducted during one academic year (from September 2020 to June 2021) in the course “English for Specific Purposes (ESP)” with 60 students of Pedagogical Education major of the University of Tyumen. To assess the results of the experimental work the following tools were used: L. Michelson’s test, free associative experiment, the method of expert evaluation based on the level scale developed by the authors.Results. The obtained data confirmed the effectiveness of structuring learning content according to the linguistic concept image. In the course of the final test of communicative and professional skills, most students demonstrated a confident command of the basics of professional communication in English. Compared to the initial stage of the study, students’ professional communication in English became more productive. Students’ statements were distinguished by their meaningfulness, structure. They used additional material from other fields of knowledge, emotional and value coloring in the form of metaphors, idioms, statements of famous teachers, precedent texts, the ability to improvise, etc.Scientific novelty. The authors didactically proved the productivity of the hermeneutic approach in the design of teaching foreign languages on the basis of structuring teaching material by the principle of linguistic concept, which is a mediating link between the scientific concept, on the one hand, and the individual consciousness and the subjective personal experience of students, on the other hand.Practical significance. The results of this study can be used by teachers in order to achieve a balance between technological and axiological aspects of learning and cognitive activities of students for mastering their pedagogical knowledge, professional and personal experience, which will ultimately contribute to the enhancement of professional training of future educators.

A cultural-historical study of how a conceptual playworld creates conditions for personally meaningful mathematics in the Chinese kindergarten context

ABSTRACT Previous studies have emphasised that play can promote children’s learning of mathematics. However, little research has been directed towards understanding how collective imaginary play motivates children's mathematical learning. Informed by the cultural-historical conception of play and motives, this paper examines how Conceptual PlayWorld (CPW) creates conditions for Chinese children's meaningful mathematical learning using the concept of repeating patterns as an example. Video observations of teachers interacting with children (4–5 years) during the CPW implementation (8.54 h), as well as children's interviews (5.75 h), were gathered and analysed. Following the focus child Zeng's motives and intentions but all children's experiences in the CPW, the findings show CPW appears to create mathematical conditions that promote thinking, imagining and play. Zeng's motives for mathematical learning are stimulated by his play motives which are amplified through his active participation and problem-solving in a CPW, and this creates conditions for his personally meaningful learning of mathematics in the Chinese kindergarten context.

Children’s Classroom Experiences in Building Peer Relationships

This study examines a child’s personal experiences with peer relationship building in the classroom and is guided by Vygotsky’s cultural historical concepts of the social situation of development and cultural tools and Hedegaard’s (2012) model for learning and development. Hedegaard’s (2012) dialectical—interactive approach was adopted to analyse the data for this study which was gathered using digital video observations of a grade one classroom within the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia over a five week period. This paper explores the strategies used by children that enables them to balance their desire for peer relationships while remaining within what is considered acceptable behaviours by their teachers within the classroom. It is argued that it is important for schools to continue to strive to find the balance between institutional demands while creating social situations that foster peer relationships.

A cultural-historical study of emotions in play: catharsis and perezhivanie in an institutional care setting

ABSTRACT As a critical developmental goal, emotion regulation (ER) for young children in orphanages has yet to be fully understood. This paper explores how co-experiencing of dramatic interactions in playworlds supports a child’s resolution and regulation of emotions in an institutional care setting in China. 49 hours of video data were analysed with the cultural-historical concepts of catharsis and perezhivanie. Findings show that catharsis as a crucial aspect of ER development takes the form of a triadic relationship between emotions, imagination, and drama. Together they create conditions for the child to reorganize the person-environment unity, which helps shape the child’s further development.

Научные и житейские представления в мировоззрении современных учащихся раннего юношеского возраста

Background. Te modern information space containing both reliable and quasi-scientifc information has a signifcant impact on the formation of students’ scientifc worldview. Objective. To obtain an empirical support for the theoretical model of the formation of scientifc worldview in the middle-adolescent students which was formulated in the framework of the cultural-historical conception. Methods. A special questionnaire was developed containing 16 pairs of statements. Each pair presented both scientifc and an everyday interpretation of a natural science phenomenon. Te respondents had to choose the answer considered to be correct. When processing the data, the number of answers corresponding to the modern scientifc concepts was taken into account. Sample. Te study involved 200 high school students and 196 junior college students aged 16–18 years, a total of 396 people (232 girls and 164 boys). Results. Te study has revealed that the worldview of middle-adolescent students is predominantly characterized by an average level of scientifc concepts and presents an individual combination of scientifc and everyday knowledge. It has been found out that boys demonstrate a signifcantly higher level of scientifc views than girls. College students’ outlook tends to be more scientifc than that of high school students, but the diferences linked to the type of educational institution do not reach statistica signifcance. Conclusion. Te theoretical model of scientifc worldview formation in the middle adolescence proposed by L.I. Bozhovich in the framework of cultural-historical approach is not confrmed. It is assumed that the key factor in the formation of an individual’s scientifc worldview is not the scope of one’s knowledge but its personal meaning. Te data obtained expand understanding of formation of the students’ worldview and provide new insights into the content and structure of modern individual’s outlook.

Digital games and digital play in early childhood: a cultural-historical approach

ABSTRACT A body of research that investigates the social, cognitive and emotional effects of digital technologies on the development of children reports that digital technologies are limiting activities that connect children with people. On the other hand, there is a great amount of research on the positive role of digital play. However, digital games per se and their influence on young children’s development remain less researched. The role of digital play and digital games in the development of young children is discussed within the framework of Vygotsky’s cultural-historical conception. This article proposes a distinction between digital play (DP) and digital game (DG) as a cultural tool connected to the main components of play – imaginary situations, play rules and play actions. A ‘normative situation’, an important component of play that links play rules, roles and play actions, is introduced as a reliable criterion for assessing the developing potential of DGs.

Promoting Chinese children's agency in science learning: Conceptual PlayWorld as a new play practice

In pursuit of more creative and imaginative citizens, the Chinese Ministry of Education has launched policies and curriculum guidelines to promote play-based science learning. However, little research has been directed towards Chinese children's agency in play-based science activity settings. Informed by a cultural-historical conception of play, this paper examines how children's agency in science learning improved after the Conceptual PlayWorld implementation. Conceptual PlayWorld as an intervention in this educational experiment framed a larger study of two teachers interacting with 34 children (aged four to five years; mean age of 4.65 years) in group learning activities. 40.38 h of video observations, 5.75 h of child interviews and 1 h of teacher interviews were generated in total. The findings indicate that a Conceptual PlayWorld allows children to obtain some degrees of freedom and co-construct rules in the play-based science activity setting, which promotes children's initiatives and thereby their agency. In addition, children's active involvement in Conceptual PlayWorld activity settings motivates them to solve conceptual problems as responsible and intentional members, which also promotes their agency. We argue that a Conceptual PlayWorld in Chinese kindergartens appears to promote children's agency in science learning and can contribute to an active and creative citizenship.

Infant–toddler teachers’ compassionate pedagogies for emotionally intense experiences

ABSTRACT This paper examines compassionate pedagogies in relation to an emotionally intense experience in a long day-care centre. Video observations were made of international preservice teachers undertaking an infant–toddler professional experience in Australia. The study is informed by Vygotsky’s cultural–historical concept of emotional experience [perezhivanie]. The analysis involves a situation where a toddler is crying and a pre-service teacher is providing support. Findings show that the pre-service teacher made intuitive attempts to show an embodied compassion (e.g. touch), but also needed compassion from her mentor teachers to navigate this experience. Implications include recognition that preservice teachers’ intuitive responses to affectionate touch are starting points for enacting compassionate pedagogies. Pre-service teachers’ approach to holding hands as a physical and compassionate form of touch may be helpful for navigating emotionally intense experiences. However, preservice teachers need more intentional support from mentors to develop compassionate pedagogies.

Sensing and configuring the world with text: bringing neo-Vygotskian thinking into dialogue with more-than-human literacies in early childhood

ABSTRACT Research framed by evolving sociocultural theories have been fundamental in advancing the study of early childhood literacies. More recently the field has been enriched by posthumanist theories that have shifted the analytic gaze from children’s participation in literacy practices and events, to the fluid relationality of literacies. Concurrently, neo-Vygotskian scholars have advanced cultural-historical concepts to study a child and their environment in unity. This paper brings neo-Vygotskian thinking into dialogue with ‘more-than-human’ literacies in early childhood. Drawing on vignettes generated from an ethnography involving 3–4-year-old children, the paper explores the in-between-ness of young children and the socio-material environment during encounters with text, to seek insights into the emerging idiosyncratic, subjectively, and relationally produced experiences. From this conceptual space, the paper considers the ways in which children’s intention and orientation emerge with text and how micromoments in relations can be sites of potential transformation.

Early Childhood Educators as COVID Warriors: Adaptations and Responsiveness to the Pandemic Across Five Countries

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted countries across the globe. The pandemic has created a completely new teaching–learning environment of interaction for early childhood educators. In many countries, face-to-face teaching has been replaced by remote teaching, while in others, there have been intermittent lockdowns and limited interruptions to regular teaching norms. Given the play-based nature of preschool teaching–learning activities in most countries, educators are required to reimagine the sociocultural relationships to their pedagogical practices in their everyday teaching–learning contexts. This paper sheds light on educators’ experiences and the dramatic shift in their indoor–outdoor teaching–learning environment due to the evolving health measures. The study draws on notions of teachers’ identities and Vygotsky’s cultural–historical concept of social situation of development (Vygotsky, 1994) to capture the new forms of relationships that early childhood educators experienced with their pedagogical environments across different countries during the pandemic. Data were collected from preschool teachers across five countries—Australia, Bangladesh, Norway, Singapore and India using online surveys which included open- and close-ended questions. Findings reveal the on-ground realities and teachers’ adaptations to new pedagogies emerging across the five countries. The new digital environments provided an equally new dimension for change. These changes were seen in interactions, relationships within the everyday pedagogical contexts, as well as the shifting physical and social environment of early years educators.

Meters of Ukrainian children's choral art: Eleonora Vinogradova (on the occasion of the 90th anniversary)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the creative activity of the outstanding representative of the national choral culture Eleonora Vinogradova. To substantiate the importance of the choral conductor's personality and its influence on the formation of modern children's choral performance. To outline the multifaceted activity of E. Vinogradova as a choral conductor, teacher, music, and public figure in the context of active universalism. Understand that the biography of a creative person is an expression of the most typical features of the era, its basic ideas, and is a reflection of historical and socio-cultural events. Methodology. Features of the biographical approach allow us to explore the artist's biography as a way of reconstructing the cultural-historical concept. A systematic chronological approach is being implemented. The scientific novelty lies in the expediency of research and replenishment of new facts of E. Vinogradova's biography from the point of view of the development of choral culture. An attempt was made to recreate for the first time, full of selfless work, the creative path of the artist with an awareness of the essential characteristics of a particular historical period, its culture. Conclusions. According to archival documents and other information sources, the process of formation and formation of professional principles, as well as stylistic features of E. Vinogradova's creative activity is analyzed. The leading sphere of creative activity is defined, namely, the activity of the choral conductor. It is emphasized that the outstanding choral conductor and teacher, the representative of the Kyiv conducting and choral school Eleonora Vinogradova is an active participant of the Ukrainian artistic life with high professional potential. The high cultural potential of the universal creative personality of the conductor-teacher in the processes of formation and development of the national musical culture is proved.

The explanatory potential of the «chronotope» category in social research

The explanatory possibilities of the «chronotope» concept applied to the social phenomena and processes study are analysed. The concept’s genesis from A. A. Ukhtomsky’s research, dedicated to the space-time aspects of the human body functioning and the environment, to M. M. Bakhtin’s literary criticism, which reveals the space-time organisation of literary works is shown. The specificity of spatio-temporal relations in literature is projected onto the sphere of social. The latent chronotopicity of Spengler’s cultural-historical concept is revealed. According to this concept, the qualitative features of space and time produce fundamentally different pictures of the world and the human existence content. Based on A. Ya. Gurevich’s theoretical propositions and L. Levi-Bruhl’s anthropological studies, the space-time determinism problem of our thinking structure is revealed. The connection between the signs of space-time, the image of the world and a human is explicated. The effectiveness of using the category «chronotope» as an analysing tool of society at the level of structure and action is substantiated; the most promising areas for using the explanatory possibilities of the chronotope in sociology are identified.