Content area
Full Text
The authors argue that childhood played a special role in the cultural-historical theory of human culture and biosocial development made famous by Soviet psychologist Lev S. Vygotsky and his circle. They discuss how this school of thought has, in turn, influenced contemporary play studies. Vygotsky used early childhood to test and refine his basic principles. He considered the make-believe play of preschoolers and kindergartners the means by which they overcame the impulsiveness of toddlers to develop the intentional behavior essential to higher mental functions. The authors explore the theory of play developed by Vygotsky's colleague Daniel Elkonin based on these basic principlies, as well as the implications for play in the work of such Vygotskians as Alexei Leontiv, Alexander Luria, and others, and how their work has been extended by more recent research. The authors also discuss the role of play in creating the Vygotsky school's "zone of proximal development." Like these researchers, old and new, the authors point to the need to teach young children how to play, but they caution teachers to allow play to remain a childhood activity instead of making it a lesson plan. Key words: childhood devlopment; cultural-historical psychology; Lev S. Vygotsky; preschool play; zone of proximal development
A well-known, often-quoted passage from Russian psychiatrist Lev S. Vygotsky states: "In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a magnifying glass, play contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form; in play it is as though the child were trying to jump above the level of his normal behavior" (1967, 16).
These lines, which come from a 1933 lecture on play, have recently regained the attention of scholars and practitioners. Interestingly, the interpretations of this paragraph can differ dramatically depending on the philosophical orientation of the interpreter. For example, some present it as an injunction for adults not to interfere in children's play, because-more than any other activity-play seems to allow a young child to "jump above the level of his normal behavior." Others find in these very same words from Vygotsky a call to use play as an eficient vehicle to deliver academic concepts...