Dr Ludmila Elkoninova - International Council for Children's Play

Introduction
The issue of how a socio-dramatic play originates,
“flourishes” and then “wraps up” into a resource of further
development of a child requires fundamental theoretical
research. At the same time, a competent answer to this
question may help to informally tie the theory and the
practice, and to solve practical tasks in a meaningful way.
This question will be answered here in the
frameworks of the L.S.Vygotsky’s Cultural-historical theory
and Activity theory. In accordance with them, internal mental
processes can be “read out” by the qualitative changes of
the mode of action. Mental development is a transition from
natural (impulsive) action towards the action built on the
new cultural form thanks to which the action becomes
intended and conscious. Description of this qualitative
transformation is the fixation of development.
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