Daniil El'konin

1904-

“Overcoming the naturalistic concept of mental development calls for a radically new approach to the interrelation between child and society. We have been led to this conclusion by a special investigation of the historical emergence of role-playing. In contrast to the view that role playing is an eternal extra-historical phenomenon, we hypothesized that role playing emerged at a specific stage of social development, as the child's position in society changed in the course of history. Role-playing is an activity that is social in origin and, consequently, social in content.”

Works:

Toward the Problem of Stages in the Mental Development of the Child, 1971

Comments:

Over 100 Comments and Footnotes by Nikolai Versov