Abstract

Background. This paper presents the concept of psychological and pedagogical expertise of games and toys, developed under the guidance of Elena Smirnova. Elaboration of the concept is due to the fact that a toy is an important tool of children’s play and, according to many studies, has an impact on its formation and development. At the same time, the modern toy market has changed significantly over the past decades and requires to be studied by specialists. 

There are several publications on the psychological and pedagogical evaluation of games and toys developed under E.O. Smirnova’s guidance. However, the Concept has been repeatedly changed and developed which was not reflected in publications (the last work dates back to 2017). This article is intended to fill this gap. 

Objective. This paper describes the Concept, methodology and procedure of psychological and pedagogical examination of games and toys developed under the guidance of E.O. Smirnova. 

Results. The Concept of expertise is based on the cultural-historical approach and activity theory. A toy is considered as a tool for children’s play in broad sense, especially created by adults. Toys are classified into 4 types of activity: play as such, productive activity, cognitive-explorative activity, and physical activity. Each kind of activity includes types united by specific features, goals and tools. Psychological and pedagogical evaluation of toys includes 4 evaluation parameters: ethical, aesthetical, operational-technical, and developmental potential of play action. The result of expertise is the attribution of the toy to a certain activity type and age group. 

Conclusions. The Concept of psychological and pedagogical evaluation of toys, created under the leadership of E.O. Smirnova, is based on key concepts and advances of cultural-historical psychology and activity theory. The Concept can serve as a basis for research in this area, expanding and clarifying the ideas of science about the impact of games, play and subject tools on the development of children.