Moscow University Psychology Bulletin, 2021, 4, 320 p.

The 1st of June, usually a joyful day dedicated to the protection of children by UNESCO, was a sad day this year. On this day in 2021 Professor Pentti Hakkarainen passed away. Pentti was a prominent psychologist and methodologist of activity theory and cultural-historical approach. Starting with the translation of Leontiev's book “Activity, Consciousness, and Personality” (1977) into Finnish, he continued to penetrate into the depths of activity and cultural-historical theory during his scientific career. 

Cultural-historical and activity theory has proposed many important theoretical ideas for the educational sciences, which inspired the creation of different pedagogical approaches and models around the world. It is worth noticing that many important theoretical concepts of the cultural-historical and activity theory have become universally accepted and used in the contexts of education regardless of the prevailing theoretical paradigms.

This is probably the cost that has to be paid for being widely known. It is not the first time when certain theoretical concepts become widespread, a deeper systemic understanding of psychological theory itself is lost. Despite the fact that such a fate befell many of the concepts of the cultural-historical activity theory, there are many interesting attempts to deepen and further develop the approach.

The introductory article introduces several important theoretical statements formulated by the creators of cultural-historical and activity theory that have significantly contributed to the development of pedagogical ideas and based on which important educational research is being conducted today. It discusses in detail how the ideas of Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, D.B. Elkonin, Davydov, Galperin, Talyzina, N.N. Podd'iakov and other Russian scholars were understood and further developed in Scandinavia, other countries, and especially in the educational research of Latin American scholars. The introductory article ends by introducing the topics and research problems of scientific articles published in this special issue of the journal.

Relevance. Self-regulation is a key skill that predicts successful life-long learning and fine career opportunities (John, Gross, 2004; Blair, Diamond, 2008; Cole, Deater-Dechard, 2009). Playworld as the space of self-regulation development, has been in the spotlight theoretically and practically in educational research for a while (Hakkarainen, et al., 2015; Fleer, Veresov, Walker, 2020; Colliver, Veraksa, 2021).

Goal. However, the pedagogical adult play strategies that help young children join collective make-believe play based on emotional self-regulation are still in question. This study is grounded in a cultural-historical perspective and places joint emotional regulation at the heart of the collective play process in the early years.

Methods. This study uses qualitative single case study design and video microanalysis to capture important changes in adult and child behavior during the critical entry to the playworld. 

Results reveal the micro-steps and strategies to help young players join and actively participate in the playworld. The findings outline that participation in play, as a cultural practice, is the key mediating activity that helps children develop their emotional self-regulation. However, young children need support; actively playing adult as a model of emotional regulation strategies in early childhood educational settings because the peer culture of neighbourhoods is in decline.

Relevance. Self-regulation is a key skill that predicts successful life-long learning and fine career opportunities (John, Gross, 2004; Blair, Diamond, 2008; Cole, Deater-Dechard, 2009). Playworld as the space of self-regulation development, has been in the spotlight theoretically and practically in educational research for a while (Hakkarainen, et al., 2015; Fleer, Veresov, Walker, 2020; Colliver, Veraksa, 2021).

Goal. However, the pedagogical adult play strategies that help young children join collective make-believe play based on emotional self-regulation are still in question. This study is grounded in a cultural-historical perspective and places joint emotional regulation at the heart of the collective play process in the early years.

Methods. This study uses qualitative single case study design and video microanalysis to capture important changes in adult and child behavior during the critical entry to the playworld. 

Results reveal the micro-steps and strategies to help young players join and actively participate in the playworld. The findings outline that participation in play, as a cultural practice, is the key mediating activity that helps children develop their emotional self-regulation. However, young children need support; actively playing adult as a model of emotional regulation strategies in early childhood educational settings because the peer culture of neighbourhoods is in decline.

Relevance. This paper analyzes the professional motives of teachers working at primary schools from the perspective of Activity Theory, considering that the teachers' motives are relevant for organizing the teaching-learning process.

Goals. This study aimed to analyze the professional motives of primary school teachers and their relationship with the teaching-learning process.

Methods and sample collection. Three sixth grade teachers participated in semi-structured interviews to analyze their motives and their impact on the teaching-learning process based on: a) teachers and b) school context and the interactions related to the teaching-learning process. The analysis of the motivational sphere was conducted utilizing the Activity Theory paradigm and the Cultural-Historical approach, researching the motives that underlay the teaching-learning process. The interviews were analyzed using the typology of motives proposed by Talizina (2019), according to specific indicators.

Results. We offer a classification of teachers’ motives regarding the teaching-learning process. These motives are distributed heterogeneously across our proposed indicators; some motives are similar for each teacher, and other motives exhibit great disparity. Also, we observed great differences between the profile of motives across two teachers, one working at a private school and the other working at a public school.

Conclusions. The findings suggest the existence of internal positive motives in the teacher’s professional activity.

Introduction. The learning process has always been one of the essential objects of psychological study, according to Activity Theory. Davidov (citation needed) has proposed differentiation between the general term of non-specific learning as any kind of social experience and the specific learning resulting from guiding and organized learning. Talizina (2018, 2019) has proposed a notion of organization of the process of learning according to Activity Theory, in particular, concerning the psychological notion of action formation by stages. This proposal might be understood straightforwardly for consideration of the process of teaching and learning according to Activity Theory.

The goal. This article aims to discuss the necessity of continuing the psychological study of the educational process as a dialectic and complex relation between the organization of the learning process and the results of this process as achievement in a child’s development.

Findings and proposals. This article offers a revision of the notion of organization of the learning process with original proposals. We propose two sub-periods or two methodological possibilities as the organization of the learning process. Firstly, initial primary school (first three grades of primary school), and further grades of primary school (second three grades of primary school), according to Davidov’s (citation needed) psychological notion of the school-age and learning as a leading activity of child’s development.

Conclusions. This article concludes that activity theory as a general theory with a variety of particular concepts, such as psychological age, leading activity and formation of mental actions are useful for positive solution of current problems which exist in education systems in different countries. 

Background. Traditional ways of developing practical work in chemistry classes mainly focus on providing narrow relations between theory and practice, following scripts without reflections on meanings for proposed actions, among other features. To improve chemistry learning, we propose a new model based on Activity Theory (AT), considering a Scheme for a Complete Orienting Basis of an Action (SCOBA) to guide experimental activities towards developing the students’ chemical thinking and creativity.

Aims. To propose a model based on the Activity Theory proposed by A. N. Leontiev to guide experimental activities directed to problem-solving situations and promote structured and creative learning in chemistry teaching and learning.

Methods. A formative experiment involved 23 first-year undergraduates (median age 19 years) in a General Chemistry discipline of a mechanical engineering course at a Cuban university. The formative experiment consisted of an initial diagnosis to guide the elaboration of models (SCOBA) to develop five experimental activities during the classes. Data were collected from classroom observations focused on using the proposed model by the undergraduates and written text elaborated by them as they were executing actions in the experimental activities. Data analysis considered three levels of performance by the undergraduates, which suggested the quality of learning for them: correctly (I), partially (II), and incorrectly (III) supported by SCOBA.

Results. We found an increasing percentage of undergraduates who correctly perform the experimental activity (EA) based on the established model for the activity (SCOBA), from EA2 to EA6. Considering that the SCOBA is elaborated to facilitate learning from the integral actions, this result suggests most undergraduates gradually reached a good appropriation of the chemistry contents related to the experimental activities (86.9% in Level I at EA6). Progressively, the undergraduates showed greater awareness, motivation, and independence for the experimental activities, improving productive social interactions, between pairs and with the instructor, during the classes.

Conclusions. The findings showed the potential of the organization of experimental activities based on the Activity Theory as an innovative proposal for more efficient teaching in professional training. Bringing together the problem-solving strategy as an experimental activity, developed under a basis of orientation for action, the students are given the possibility to engage consciously and creatively of solving problems, exploring, and deciding, being motivated protagonists of their learning.

Introduction. Parent training programs developed in the late '60s of the last century are those recognized as an important component in work with children and adolescents in a psychiatric or social dysfunction context. The cases in which its application would be most necessary often have poor results, sometimes causing an insurmountable challenge for professionals. Therefore, new methodologies are needed, which will allow for greater efficiency.

Methods. We started by reviewing the unsuccessful processes in classical methodologies parent training programs at our institute, considered “unsuccessful” when after nine months of the program, parents' attitudes towards their children remained unchanged, continuing to show difficulty in being aware of the guiding role that parents play in their child's psychological ontogenesis. We designed an experimental methodology guided by Galperin's Theory of the Development of Human Mental Activity, which we tested in a series of 12 cases drawn randomly from those previously identified.

Results. The program's main objective was achieved in 11 of 12 cases in a reduced number of sessions. There was an average session count of 5.25, SD of 2.42, a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 8 sessions.

Discussion and some concluding remarks. The excellent results observed in this first study suggest that the used methodology can promote the quality of parental guidance carried out in psychiatric clinic processes and social cases. Thus, Galperin's Theory of the Development of Human Mental Activity can show in parent training as important results as those that over the years have already been shown in pedagogy.

The present paper is relevant because it addresses, for the first time, the conceptual, methodological and typological aspects of the main developmental alternative didactic systems that emerged in the former Soviet Union from the 1950s onwards. Its main purposes are to analyze the concepts of didactic system, alternative didactic system and Soviet developmental alternative didactic systems, as well as identifying and classifying the most prominent among the last mentioned.

The research methodology is based on systemic thinking, as well as on the historical-logical and constructive-interpretative methods. The Zankovian, Galperin-Talizina and Elkonin-Davidov-Repkin systems were studied as the main developmental alternative systems.

The analysis points to the conclusion that a developmental alternative didactic system is any didactic and psychological system that opposes the official or traditional ones established or imposed by the State, and that aims to create the appropriate conditions in which learning will lead to the psychological development of students.