Podolskiy, Andrei I.

Celebrating the 115th anniversary birth of P.Ya. Galperin, an outstanding Russian scientist, and paying tribute to his contribution in general psychology, genetic psychology and teacher-training psychology, it is necessary to emphasize Galperin’s unique approach to the essence of mental phenomena and processes, to the mechanisms and development that reverberate the internal integrity and systemic approach. There are at least, three main directions of P.Ya. Galperin’s concept, i.e. his system of psychology. The first direction is the method of gradual development of intellectual activity for studying human mental activity. The second direction is the study of the theoretically described and actually implemented process of gradual development of intellectual activity as a psychological reality. The third direction is the gradual development of intellectual activity in the practice of teaching.

This paper is devoted to the strategic issues of implementing gradual development of intellectual activity. The significance of these assumptions for practical training, not in a laboratory experiment, but in the mass version, paradoxically requires a far deeper and broader understanding of mechanisms of the human mental activity than academic laboratory research. The reasons for the relatively limited use of Galperin’s theory are considered in the practice of training. Further development of psychology along the path outlined by P.Ya. Galperin aimed at enhancing practical capabilities of the theoretical approach is being highlighted.

The article presents the results of a large-scale study of value-motivational orientation identity of adolescents living in various regions of the Russian Federation in connection with the characteristics of the social situation of development (family, school). The data obtained in the study allows to identify the most appropriate formation procedures aimed at development of adolescent orientation in value aspects of social relations. Such concepts as morality, value orientations are increasingly used in describing the development trends in society, forming the worldview of the younger generation; the relevant questions are: how is the process of formation of human moral values going; what factors determine the direction and dynamics of this process? The study involved 2731 teenager (46.1% male, 53.9% female) from different regions of the Russian Federation (total 6 sites); 937 parents of adolescents; 125 teachers. Every site included 2 cities, distinguished by population and by status (one of the city is a regional capital). The identified connections of value orientations of students with various psychological characteristics of teachers and parents tell about the adverse trends in the formation of value-moral spheres of adolescents and bring to the fore the problem of working with these characteristics.

The article analyses the present status of the gradual formation of mental actions theory developed by famed Russian psychologist P.Y.Galperin. It discusses practical application of the theory in the field of education.

The paper presents a large-scale scientific and practical project “Finding the resources for psychological well-being enhancement of adolescents in Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan”, carried out by an international team of psychologists in Russia, Netherlands, Finland, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. The authors describe studies conducted in the framework of this project, methods used for identifying the psychological well-being of children , and the proposed and partially tested psychotherapeutic means for its improvement.

Interview with A.I.Podolsky (Professor of Psychology, Head of Developmental Psychology Department of Moscow State Lomonosov University), dedicated to the anniversary of P.Y.Galperin.