Litvinova Svetlana

Phenomenon of present-day preschoolers’ game subculture

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study the phenomenon of children’s game subculture taking into account the current socio-cultural situation of preschoolers’ development. The article identifi es problem points in the theory and practice of preschool education from the perspective of applying game techniques. The characteristics of children’s play subculture are identifi ed by means of analysing early childhood memories and observing games of children of preschool age. The article presents results of rating the popularity of cartoons for children, shows the empirical relationship between the content of children’s games and popular cartoons. It is revealed that the game of the present-day child of preschool age refl ects archetypal and modern game patterns. It is established that children’s play subculture refl ects needs of children regardless of time. The article establishes facts of productive combinatorial character among children of preschool age which are manifested in integrating diverse roles and storylines and reflect the child’s need to maximally express his or her own desires in the situation “here and now”, to combine available ideas about his or her environment and create new game situations. The results of the study of the phenomenon of children’s game subcultures lead to the conclusion about the necessity of developing game techniques that would allow children to immerse in the space of their own capabilities and develop a set of skills signifi cant for their future, such as creative thinking, communicative ability, resourcefulness, readiness to respond to changes in the game situation.

Keywords

game, children’s game subculture, social and cultural conditions for preschoolers’ development, typical game patterns, role-playing games, skills signifi cant for one’s future, characters

References

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Information about the author

Litvinova Svetlana

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in Education;
Place of work: Zelenograd Branch of Institute of Business Administration, Moscow City University; 4 Vtoroy Sel'skokhozyaystvennyi proezd, Moscow, 129226, Russian Federation;
Post: director;
ORCID: 0000-0002-4589-3688;
Email: _litsveta_@mail.ru.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.