Bukhalenkova, D. A.

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique situation in the global community which emerged for the first time. Research shows that the pandemic may have a long-term effect on children’s development. Inhibition control is one of the main components of executive functioning and a predictor to a child’s further academic success. However, there are few works devoted to the study of the impact of the pandemic on inhibition control in preschoolers.

The objective of the study was to identify dynamics of the development of inhibition control in children aged 5–8 years (from senior preschool to primary school age) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indicators of the development of inhibition control in first-graders before and during the pandemic were compared.

Methods. Inhibition control was assessed three times (at 5, 6, and then at 7 years of age) with the NEPSY-II Inhibition subtest.

Sample. This longitudinal study involved children aged 5 to 8 years at the time of follow-up from 2019 to 2021 (N=101). Additionally, the sample included first-grade children who were trained in kindergarten and first grade before the pandemic (March 2019, N=84).

Results. The results of the analysis indicate that inhibition control successfully developed in children from the senior kindergarten group to the first grade of school during the pandemic. At the same time, the level of development of inhibition control in girls after the pandemic is higher than in girls before the pandemic, while no significant differences were found for boys.

Conclusion. The level of inhibitory control in preschoolers, whose education in the preparatory group of the kindergarten took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the restrictions introduced and changes in the usual way of life, corresponds to the norms. It has been shown that the results of the development of inhibitory control in children who were caught up in the pandemic and those who were not caught up in the pandemic differ depending on gender.

Background of this study is determined by the increased interest in mathematical education in recent years. Teachers and researchers are concerned about the conditions and means of developing mathematical education. Along with this, there is no consensus on what constitutes mathematical abilities, what is their structure and development.

Objective of this study is to compare the development of mathematical skills of first-graders in different educational programs and to identify specific to each program features.

The study sample consisted of 434 first-graders of Moscow schools (54.8% of boys), among which: 37.1% of first-graders learn programs of increased complexity, 44% ― traditional programs, 18.9% ― developmental education program.

Methods. An author's set of tasks was developed to diagnose the mathematical skills of first-graders in this study. It included "classical" tasks children must perform regardless of the training program and "specific" tasks that test the awareness of meaning of the mathematical actions performed.

Results. The analysis showed that most of the classical mathematical skills are not related to the character of the program and it developed by all first-graders in the course of training. However, complex arithmetic skills (working with two-digit numbers and searching for an unknown sum component) developed more effectively in programs of increased complexity. Specific skills related to reasonable action with a number (tasks for a number line or measurement) showed an ambiguous development dynamic. It allows us to assume that the content of programs does not affect specific skills.

Conclusion. This study allows us to form a hypothesis that the selecting students for programs affects only the rate of development of a number of classical mathematical skills. Whereas specific skills are more dependent on the content of the program. It requires further study.

Background. The quality of preschool education is of great importance for the subsequent adaptation and academic success. The ECERS-R methodology is available for Russian psychologists for assessing the quality of the educational environment of a kindergarten with a large array of accumulated data. ECERS-R is aimed at assessing more the material and subject arrangement of a preschool educational institution and the nature of the child's interaction with the environment (including social). At the same time, in our opinion, insufficient attention is paid to assessing the emotional climate of interactions between children and teachers and assessing the extent to which the proposed training is in the zone of proximal development of the child.

Objective. To compensate for the identified deficit, work was carried out to start adapting another tool for assessing the quality of the educational environment — the CLASS methodology, based on the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky about the optimal construction of the educational process.

Methods. The study was conducted in 41 preparatory groups of Moscow kindergartens. In these groups, to assess the quality of the educational environment, the CLASS methodology was used, which includes 10 dimensions combined into 3 main domains: Emotional support, Classroom Organization and Instructional support. Also, on a part of the sample (N=26 groups), the ECERS-R method was additionally used.

Results. Analysis of the internal reliability of the instrumentation showed satisfactory results. Although the scores for all three domains are related, the Instructional Support scores were significantly lower than the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization scores. Comparison of the results of the CLASS and ECERS-R methods showed a small number of relationships between the scores of the scales of the two methods. At the same time, the CLASS parameter Instructional support is more related to ECERS-R.

Conclusion. The data obtained confirm our assumption that the CLASS method provides significant information about the quality of interaction between a teacher and children in a kindergarten group, which complements the results of ECERS-R, which means that this tool will be useful for a full assessment of the quality of the educational environment in a kindergarten.

Relevance. Both speech and the affect are critically important for the development of the child, his academic achievements. The interrelation of these mental functions shows opportunities for the development of preschoolers.

Objective. Analytical review of classical and modern studies of Russian and foreign scientists on the types of relationship between speech and emotional development in preschool children.

Methods. Critical analysis of the literature on the emotional and speech development and their relationship.

Results. On the basis of the analyzed works, a conclusion is made about the close connection and interaction of the emotional and linguistic functions of the child in the process of ontogenesis. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the emotional competence of the child (the ability to recognize and name emotions) and the level of development of the lexical aspect, especially the knowledge of words associated with the affect. Another significant area of intersection of language and emotions is the communication, which is the more successful for a child, the better his speech and emotions are developed. As an interpretation, several approaches are proposed — as well-established within the framework of the cultural-historical approach of L.S. Vygotsky and modern cognitive models.

Conclusions. This analysis allows to both get acquainted with the latest domestic and foreign works in the field of the relationship between speech and emotions of children, and to see the possibilities for the practical application of the approaches revised. In particular, to assess the contribution of speech functions to emotional regulation and self-regulation of the child, as well as to improve the development of the emotional vocabulary of children.

Relevance. There is growing interest in the market for educational applications in Russia. A significant number of these are aimed at preschoolers. Although much is known about the key features of preschoolers learning ( due to the cultural-historical approach as well ), there is still little research analyzing whether these features are taken into account in the design and methodology of mobile applications available on the market.

Objective. To analyze math apps for preschoolers from the standpoint of cultural-historical theory. 

Design. We went to Google Play and AppStore with the query “mathematics for preschoolers” and selected four apps that are most popular among users and recommended by experts. We analyzed them according to the following criteria: (1) adult engagement, (2) quality of the child’s interactions with the application content, (3) types of content, (4) forms of material presentation and the correspondence of the method of number concept formation to the preschool age specifics, (5) the quality of mathematical content, that ensures the principle of continuity with the primary school curriculum. 

Results. None of the apps was based on developmental learning methodology, and none used opportunities for involving an adult in a dialogue and joint activities with a child. Not all the apps considered the characteristics of the age group in their design of content and the child's interactions with the app. Only one of the apps provides continuity with the primary school curriculum. 

Conclusions. Scientific knowledge and practical achievements in the field of mathematical education for preschoolers are not always reflected even in the most popular programs. Our analysis allows to draw the attention of parents, teachers, and developers to important design elements that could make an app really educational for preschool children. 

The article presents the results of a study of ideas about life success of teenagers. The sample of our study consisted of 500 students of 10-11 classes of the Moscow schools and gymnasiums. The greatest attention is paid to the analysis of success in the profession on the implementation of subjects of projective techniques. The analysis of examples of successful people has allowed highlighting the most significant areas of professional activity, as well as basic assessment criteria of success. So, the most popular examples of successful people for teenagers are the businessmen who have earned the status with the development of computer technologies, representatives of show-business and politics. Analysis of representations of teenagers about their future in 15 years allowed identifying criteria that are most important for the adolescents in the assessment of the future success of their professional activities. Gender differences in perceptions of professional and life success are analyzed.